Silent Gulch 3: Redemption
by firerwolf
Summary: <html><head></head>20 years after Retribution Silent Hill is back to it's old tricks, but now it's tragetting Tex's Grandaughter, Alana. Radted for violence</html>
1. prolouge

Redemption Prologue

Tex walked down the stairs of her home. It felt odd without Alessa around anymore. Her pictures still hung on the walls. Alessa had moved out years ago. The picture of Alessa and Alex's wedding from seventeen years ago hung beside a smiling image of their then three-year-old daughter. It amazed Tex that Alana was already thirteen. Tex really was getting old.

Tex moved into the kitchen and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of coffee. She didn't remember making coffee. She sat down at the table and opened her eyes to find a mug sitting on the table in front of her.

"You look like you had a good night's sleep." Church sat down at the table across from her. "It really is a lot quieter in here without the kid around." He smiled at her as he sipped his own mug.

"Leonard." Tex stared at him, not believing he was there. "You can't be here. You died, again, like twenty years ago."

"We really are getting along in the years." Church shook his head. "Though I'm surprised that out of everyone you would think I'm dead. I've been blown up by a tank, shot with a sniper rifle, and stabbed more times than I can count. No, death would be a luxury that I don't get to have." Leonard glanced down at the brown liquid in his cup. "Why am I drinking this? I hate coffee." Tex stared across the table at him in stunned silence. "Now you are starting to annoy me."

"I just don't understand. How are you here? Please don't tell me that we have to deal with that whole Silent Hill crap again." Tex groaned and leaned back in her chair as she unhappily sipped at her coffee.

Church shrugged. "You won't be forced to get involved this time."

Tex set her mug down. "What the hell does that mean? Since when has that place ever given us a choice?"

Church raised his eyebrows at her. "It gives you plenty of choices. It gave me a chance, and I took it. That was my choice."

"Why did you leave us?" Tex turned her gaze to the table.

Church shrugged ignored the question. His features softened. "I've missed you, Allison."

"I've missed you, so much, Leonard." Tex could feel tears in her eyes. She'd tried so hard not to think about Church as much. Still he haunted her. She'd been plagued by thought of him at Alessa's wedding when she'd wished he could walk her down the aisle. When Alana was born she'd wandered back to thought of him, of how he didn't get to experience the joy of seeing his granddaughter born. "I wish you could be here."

"I know that I missed a lot." Church shook his head. Tex could see the deep look of loss in his eyes. "I don't regret it though. It's all part of the deal."

Tex furrowed her brow. She didn't understand how he couldn't regret missing all of Alessa's life, and Alana's. "What's it like, living in Silent Hill?" Tex tried to change the subject. She didn't want to see him hurt like this but she didn't know what else she could do.

"It's a hellish nightmare that gets worse and worse over time. Though the weather tends to be consistent." Church's voice was light as he spoke. "I can't complain about the company, though I have a hell of a commute."

"How can you talk about it like that?"

"Because I deal with it every day since, what, like over twenty years ago? It's not a big deal to me." Leonard stood up and moved over to the sink. He poured out the coffee, and placed the mug in the sink. "It would be like if I got upset each time that Caboose ate my pillow because Tucker told him it was a marshmallow. You get used to it and learn to steal Tucker's pillow to get back at him."

Tex closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She stood up and marched across the room to stand only inches away from him. "Answer my question."

"I thought that I just did." Church leaned back on the sink. "Or were you not listening?"

"That's not the question I meant. I mean why did you up and leave me like that? Why did you do what you did at the train? Why did you let Alessa kill you?" Tex wanted to reach out to him but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Leonard took a deep breath. "Sadly I am here on business…well, personal business, but still business." Tex frowned and waited for him to continue. "You don't have to get involved, but they are coming for her."

"Alessa?" Tex felt a chill run down her spine at the idea. She'd been unable to protect her daughter from the people in the cult. They'd nearly even killed Alex.

Leonard shook his head. "No, not Alessa. She is already off bounds, they cannot touch her without incurring It's wrath. They'll come after Alana. I'm warning you because if they take her, then things are going to get out of hand. I'm going to have to get involved, and I don't want Alana exposed to that." Leonard's face was grim. "I'm very serious about this."

Tex nodded her head. "I understand."

Leonard instantly softened and smirked at her. "Now that that's clear, ask your question."

Tex was caught a bit off guard by the sudden change. She took a moment to realize what question he was talking about. She relaxed a bit. "I thought that I already did." Tex frowned at him. "Would you just answer it?"

Leonard reached out to her and her hands trailed over her sides. "I wish I could tell you. It won't let me."

"What are you talking about?" Tex reached out and placed a hand on his chest. She withdrew it and took a step back as she realized his skin was as cold as ice. "Leonard?"

Church coughed and there was a hint of blood on his lips. Tex looked down and saw the tip of the rusted blade piercing his chest. "He always likes to play the moment killer." Church laughed and Tex looked around. They were no longer in the kitchen, rather standing in the middle of a street. "Guess they found out that I came here to warn you. But it was worth it." A figure appeared in the fog behind Church and Tex recognized it right away as Pyramid Head. The blade was pulled out of his chest and Leonard clutched the new hole. Pyramid Head's hand reached out, grabbing the back of Church's shirt. He pulled him back and the two vanished into the fog.

Tex ran after them but she found nothing, only an abandoned street. She turned and found herself staring into the face of a beautiful woman with fire-red hair. "Who are you?" The figure didn't reply, only turned and vanished into the fog.

Tex sat up in her bed in a cold sweat. The dream was still so vivid in her mind and she could still feel Church's cold skin under her fingers. She raised her hand and looked down at it, noticing that it was shaking.

Tex reached over and picked up the picture at the side of her bed. She held it in front of her and stared down at the happy memory. She sucked in air trying to calm herself down. "I miss you." She ran a finger over the image of Church. She set the picture to the side and got out of bed, moving to the bathroom. She splashed water on her face and stared into the mirror. Leonard's warning echoed her head. They were after her granddaughter. She glanced back into her bedroom, the king sized bed that she shared on her own. She found herself once more wishing that he was lying there, that he could clarify all that had happened. She'd never gotten an answer that she was satisfied with and she was starting to believe that she never would.

Tex turned back to her reflection. She wasn't sure how much she trusted the dream. For all she knew it was a trick or maybe Church had really visited her in her dreams to warn her. Did he even have that ability? She let out a long breath and moved back to the bed, curling back up under the sheets. Her hand moved over the vacant half of the bed before curling it back against her chest. She shut her eyes and tried to fall asleep.

~End Prologue~


	2. Chapter 1

Redemption chapter 1

Tex sat at her kitchen table, staring at the seat across from her. She could almost see him sitting there, the conversation from her dream echoing in the silence. She still wasn't sure if she trusted it. She didn't hear the door open, or hear her name called.

Tex jumped a bit as a hand settled on her shoulder. She looked over to see familiar blue eyes staring down at her. "Are you all right, mom?"

Tex's hand moved to cover the one on her shoulder. "I'm fine, Alessa. I was just lost in my head." She looked up at her daughter and smiled. "You look so much like your father."

Alessa laughed, shaking her head slightly. "You say that all the time. When are you going to stop being amazed?" Alessa took a seat beside her mother at the table.

Tex looked over at her daughter. It was amazing that without either of their genetics she looked so much like Church. She had his clear blue eyes, and pure black hair. Alessa looked more like Tex in body and height. She had somehow changed from a girl adopted from a creepy town to a combination of her adopted parents. Or maybe that was another part of it, something that came from Silent Hill. She adapted to those that had adopted her. Tex pushed the thought aside; she didn't want to think about that town right now. "So what brings you here today?"

The front door opened and a man walked into the house. "Hey, mom." He smiled and waved to Tex.

Tex frowned at Alex. "That's still weird. Why can't you just call me Tex, like your dads do?" He really didn't look like either of his fathers. He didn't seem to have any of Simmons Dutch Irish, and unlike Grif, Alex had remained in shape as he grew older. His brown hair resembled Grif a bit, but Alex kept it clean and combed, so it was hard to compare the two.

Alex moved up behind Alessa. "I'm going to take Alana to see her grandfathers." He leaned down, wrapping his arms around her and whispering something into her ear. Tex looked away. She always found it hard to watch shows of affection, even more now due to Church's appearance in her dream. It brought up how lonely she was and how he was gone.

Alex tried to pull away, but Alessa held him in place, as though absorbing his support. The action unnerved Tex. Alessa wasn't often a woman that needed help. Alex was usually the one that was more like the woman in the relationship. Alessa finally let go, letting her husband free. Alex hesitated a moment before he moved out the front door.

Tex was silent for a moment. Her daughter's worry seemed to only validate Church's visit. "Is something wrong?"

Alessa stared down at the table. "Alana is having nightmares. Like the ones I used to have." Tex froze at the news. "I don't know what to do. She's never been to that place. How is she being affected?"

"Your father was in my dream last night." Tex couldn't stop the words before they left her lips.

"Is that not common? He visits me sometimes, they just aren't really nightmares anymore. I'm not sure if it's really him, or if it's just my mind making up things—though, sometimes it's things from the past, at least I think they are. I mean, I'm way shorter than him in them." Alessa shut her mouth, stopping herself from rambling longer. She looked over at her mother. Tex frowned in confusion. "Mom, what happened in your dream?"

Tex hesitated before replying. She still wasn't sure if she should worry Alessa over it. She decided to cut it down a bit and keep some of it to herself. "He was here, in the house. He was so causal. He just chatted with me, then that thing with the pyramid head killed him."

"That is how they usually end." Alessa sounded unfazed by the idea of her father dying. "Mother, why did you never tell me how dad actually died? You still haven't, though I've asked you hundreds of times in the past years. I can handle it."

Tex sighed. She'd told her back when everything had gone wrong those years ago. When she woke up, Alessa hadn't remembered any of that conversation. Tex had decided to leave her in the dark after that. Partially because she didn't want to bring it to her daughter's mind and it was bad enough that Alessa remembered killing him, but partially because she wasn't sure what the real answer was. Had he died when he'd been killed by the tank? When Pyramid Head had stabbed him at the station? When Alessa had killed him? She just wasn't sure. She never believed truly that Church ever had died, only been tapped in a hell with no death. Something about the dream last night only seemed to strengthen that. "For the last time, it's to protect you. Why do you keep asking about it?"

"I'm just not sure. I mean, you tried to protect me and looked what happened. Should I be telling Alana about Silent Hill? Explain the dreams to her?" Alessa turned to the window. "Prepare her, in case something happens."

"If you must tell her anything, show her what her grandfather looks like, and tell her that if she's ever in that scary place in her dream, to look for him. If something happens, and she ends up there, she'll find him, and he'll protect her." Tex set a hand on Alessa's. "You know he'd die a thousand times for her."

Alessa laughed and turned back to her mother. "You know he already has. I know he let me kill him at that church. He died there and I got to live. He let me kill him so I could have this life, so Alana could exist. He died for her then, and I know he has died a thousand times since then."

Tex frowned. "How can you be happy about that? He's dying over and over and you're smiling." She didn't understand it. Knowing that he was in that hell was tearing her apart.

"Because, honestly, it's all I've ever known of him, and I know that he does it for us. Every time I see him he dies in some way or another. I just got used to it. I realized, though, after what happened at the church, that he does all that for us. If I sit around and feel bad about it all the time then I don't think I'm honoring what he's going through properly." Aleassa sighed. "That doesn't make sense. It does hurt to know that he's suffering, but I can't do anything about it. I mean, what options do we have?"

"There has to be some option." Tex muttered the words more to herself then the woman beside her. "So what have Alana's dreams been about?" She was trying to change the subject, get her mind off the idea that she had any chance of helping Church.

"It hasn't been the same thing twice. Several times she said she's been seeing various people fighting monsters, and a couple times she's said she's been one of the monsters attacking someone." Alessa shrugged. "Really, I can't make sense of it. With my dreams, I knew it was dad contacting me, but Alana doesn't have any reason to be contacted by him, and she's never mentioned the same person showing up more than once."

Tex frowned. "That's odd." The front door opened and a thirteen-year-old girl moved into the house. "Hey there, Alana." Tex looked at her granddaughter. The young woman had her mother's black hair, but her father's odd brown and grey eyes. Tex had to marvel at it for a moment—other than her eyes and the fact she wasn't dying her hair, Alana looked so much like Alessa had when she was the same age. It brought back good and bad memories.

"Hey, grandma." Alana moved into the house and hugged Tex. "What have you and mom been talking about?"

"Well, your mother was just telling me about your dreams." Alana's smile turned to a frown. Tex stood up and smiled at her granddaughter. "You know, your mother used to have nightmares. I think I have something that can help you. Just wait here."

Alana sat down at the table and Tex walked upstairs. She moved to her room and looked over her dresser, finally choosing one of the frames and grabbing it. Tex made her way back downstairs and stood beside Alana at the table. She held out the frame so that her granddaughter could see the picture.

Alana took the frame and stared down at the image. The picture showed Leonard and Tex from boot camp. His hair was shaved short, but it was still obvious that it was black. He was leaning against Tex, arms wrapped around her. He looked content, head resting on Tex's shoulder. "Who is he? I've seen him in a picture Mom has."

"He's your grandfather." Tex smiled to herself. "He's a very strong man. Back when your mother was your age she had nightmares. Those nightmares are linked to this awful place, a place that I hope you never really have to worry about. It's what haunts you in your dreams."

"You mean Silent Hill." Alana frowned. "I hate that place."

"Yes, that's the place. It's where you go in those dreams. If ever you find yourself in that place, find him." Tex tapped the picture, indicating Church. "He'll do everything to protect you, save you from all the bad monsters and bad people."

"Can he really protect me?" Alana studied the picture. It was evident on her face she was doubting that this man could really do much protecting.

Alessa smiled softly as she spoke of her lost father. "He protected me. Saved me from all kinds of big scary monsters back then. No matter what it was, he could beat it."

"He may not look like it, but he's strong. He has the heart of a dragon." Tex frowned a bit at the memory from the church. The memory of the dead body of Church coming back to life and morphing into a dragon crawled back up. "He can defeat anything, and he'll do anything to protect you."

"A dragon, like my stuffed animal?" Alana smiled down at the picture. "Mom says that dragons are the most powerful creatures."

"It's actually why your dragon is named Leonard. That's your grandfather's name." Alessa looked over at the picture. "Never seen a picture of him that young."

Tex hesitated for a moment. She had so few images of Church left. "You can keep that one." Both Alessa and Alana looked at her, surprised. "Whenever you have nightmares, you can just look at this picture and know that he's protecting you."

Alana clutched the picture to her chest. "Thank you, grandmother." She smiled and turned to her mother. "Dad says he's going to stay at his parents until later, since they are making his favorite dinner."

"All right, sweetie. Then you and I are having pizza, just to spite him." Alessa grinned and stood up. "Thank you, mom. I think you're really helped."

"Any time, Alessa." Tex watched as Alessa led Alana out of the house. Tex turned back to stare across the table. She tapped her finger against the table. Maybe Church's warning was serious. Alana was having dreams about Silent Hill. Maybe she should take the warning more seriously, though she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. How was she supposed to stop an evil town from sneaking its way back into the base and coming after her granddaughter? Tex groaned and glared at the empty seat. "You never were good at answering questions."

End Chapter 1


	3. Chapter 2

Redemption Chapter 2

She had no idea where she was. From the look of it, this place was some sort of laboratory. She made her way carefully down the hallway. She finally reached an old rusty door. For a moment she hesitated, fearing what was on the other side. There wasn't really an option of turning back now. She had to go forward.

She pushed the door open and it opened up into a wide circular room, lined with smaller doors and catwalks that circled the room for each level. What drew her attention was a man sitting in the middle of the room. He was leaning against an overturned table, slumped over. She moved toward him, unafraid. Blood dripped from his arms and nose. The man's head moved and looked up toward her as she neared. Now she could fully see him. His silver gray hair was matted with blood and a series of cuts ran across his face. The man seemed to ignore all of these injuries, staring at her, unblinking.

She hesitated for a moment, not sure what to do. "Are you a monster?" She didn't know where the question had come from.

The man seemed to think before he answered. His voice was strained and had a heavy southern accent. "Well, that's a tricky question. In a way I am." She took a step back. "In the way that all humans are monsters. Though if you are asking if I am dangerous, I am not. I cannot move from this spot." He seemed to study her carefully. "Tell me, who are you? For years now I have been unable to speak to anyone, but here I am conversing with you."

She sat down before him, feeling as though he was no threat to her. "My name is Alana Church." She tilted her head to the side. "Are there a lot of people around here to talk to?"

The man shook his head. "Not many. Only the Father and my wife, though I am not allowed to talk to them. Sadly, it is part of my punishment."

Alana frowned at this information. "What are you being punished for?"

"For my sins, child. The people here are suffering for their sins." The man shook his head. "Though that is not true for all. The girl did not sin, she was a part of this world, though I would not say she suffered. My wife has done nothing wrong either, besides loving me." The man's head hung in shame.

"Is she suffering?" Alana moved over to sit beside the man. She felt comfortable with him. She could only guess he was one of the good guys.

"I cannot say for sure. She watches me be in this pitiful state, and I feel guilt that she has to see me like this." The man looked up toward the ceiling. "I do not know how it makes her feel, though."

"I bet she's happy just to be near you." The man turned toward Alana, surprised. "My mother says that sometimes my father makes her crazy, or he gets himself hurt doing something stupid and it hurt her, but she's happy to have him, which outweighs the worry and hurt."

"Your mother sounds like a very wise woman. A great love can outbalance any pain that may come. It makes some people do stupid things in the name of it." The old man grinned and Alana grinned in return.

"I'm not sure if that was meant as an insult or not." A figure moved through the doorway and the pair turned to look at him. He let his katana rest on his shoulder as he moved over toward them.

"Grandpa!" Alana stood up and ran over to the man. She'd recognized Leonard right away from the picture she'd been given. She fought the urge to hug him as he was drenched in blood. Bits of his shirt and pants were torn where something had attacked him and cut him up. "Why are you here?"

Leonard looked at her, a grave look on his face. Alana took a step back, feeling a sudden feeling of dread. "You don't need to fear, Alana. I'll save you. You don't need to worry."

Alana felt a sudden wave of fear wash over her. "What are you talking about?" There was a rumble and she looked around Leonard down the hallway they had both come from. Something was coming.

The sound of hooves on stone echoed as burning red eyes appeared in the darkness. Leonard, moved wrapping his arms around Alana and shielded her as the minotaur creatures came at them.

Alana sat up in her bed, breathing hard as she tried to calm herself. Her dream had been so vivid and she had thought it was real. She stood up and moved out of her room, off to do what she always did when she had a nightmare. She went down the hallway to her parents' room.

Alana stopped outside of the room; as she heard sounds on the other side. She'd heard those sounds once before, and she really didn't want to see that again. She decided instead to try to calm her nerves. Alana moved down the stairs toward the kitchen.

She stopped as she set foot on the cold tile, staring at the kitchen table. There was a figure in one of the seats, shoulders slumped. Alana hesitantly took a step forward. "Hello?" She looked down and spotted a book on the floor. She knelt down and grabbed the journal. The teen froze as she spotted the blood red splattered across the cover of the book.

Alana looked up to the figure as she stood. She moved to the wall and flicked on the lights so she could clearly see the person. As light flooded the room and she saw the full scene, Alana let out a high-pitched scream. The man at the table was Church. His throat was slit and blood had coated his front, pooling on the floor. Alana turned and ran to go back upstairs.

She reached the bottom of the stairs when she ran into someone, causing them to fall onto the steps. She clung to her father, burying her face into his chest, trying to get the sight out of her mind. Alex wrapped his arms around her protectively. "Alana, what happened?"

"Grandpa's dead in the kitchen." Alana cried into her father's chest.

Alex pulled her away from her and Alana found herself in her mother's arms. She leaned into the soft fabric of Alessa's robe trying to calm herself down. Alex came back a moment later. "There's no one there."

Alana pushed away from her mother. "He was there, I saw him." She moved into the kitchen and found it empty. No body, no blood, nothing. "But I swear he was here."

"You must have been seeing things, sweetie." Alessa moved to her daughter's side, glancing over at Alex who simply shrugged. "Did you have another nightmare?" Alana nodded her head. "Want to tell me about it?"

Alana hesitated for a moment. "I was talking to this old guy, who said he was suffering for his sins. He kept saying things that didn't make sense. Then Grandpa showed up and said…something. Something about how he was going to save me and I shouldn't be afraid." The young woman struggled to try to remember.

"Are you sure that you really saw him in the kitchen?" Alessa looked down at her daughter. Alana shrugged. She wasn't sure what she saw any more. "Maybe you should try going back to sleep. If you have another nightmare, just come to our room." Alana noted the small slump in her father's shoulder. Alessa lead her daughter back up the stairs and to her room. She made sure that Alana was tucked in before moving out of the bedroom to Alex who was waiting for her. As they moved away Alana could hear their hushed voices.

Alana lay in her bed, trying to get to sleep. She rolled over and realized she was still clutching the journal to her chest. The shock of having found the body must have made her forget about it. It struck her that it was proof of what she had seen. If the body hadn't been there then there wouldn't be a journal for her to be holding, but here she was. For a moment she thought of getting up and showing it to her mother, proving she wasn't insane, but she decided against it. She'd worried her parents enough for the night. If she found anything interesting in the journal she would show them in the morning. Alana sat up in her bed, turning on her bedside light and opening up the journal. She opened to a random page and found it covered in shakily written words. She struggled a bit but managed to make out what it said.

_Dear I don't think I care anymore who,_

_I've tried everything in my power to stop them. I seek out where they are but there are so many limits. Even with Him at my back, we cannot stop them from growing stronger. They gained another today and it has only caused more problems. They will make their attack. There is nothing more I can do than prepare to take her back from them. I can give Her one last warning, try to get them to act, but I fear it is already too late. _

_Forever lost, _

_Desperate to stop it._

Alana frowned as she read the entry. It didn't make any sense. She flipped to the next page. It was covered in words written in blood.

_Do not fear, they are coming to take you away, I will find and save you._

At the bottom of a page was a poorly drawn cat. "What?" Alana looked up and gasped. Five robed figures stood around her bed. She breathed in to let out a scream when one of the figures grabbed her, placing a rag over her mouth. She smelled an odd chemical before she passed out.

Tex rolled over and snuggled into the warmth beside her. She realized how odd it was and her eyes eased open. She found herself staring at the bare chest of a man. She looked up and stared in amazement at a grinning Church. "Leonard?" She sat up so that she could see him better.

"The one and only." The smile dropped from Church's face. "You didn't heed my warning."

Tex frowned. "What are you talking about?" She placed a hand on his chest. "Why are you here?"

"Because they've come." Church sat up and shook his head. "They have taken her. I'll do everything I can, but I won't be able to take her out of that place. Tex, you have to tell Alex to come get her."

"Alex? Why Alex? Get who?" Tex scowled at the man, moving to lean closer to him. She didn't want to talk, she just wanted to enjoy the fact he was there.

"Stay focused, Allison." Her name snapped her to attention about how serious he was. "He has to come because I don't want either of you going back there. He can handle it, and he's a part of this. They are making him a part of it."

Church stood up and Tex stared at his back. An odd symbol was carved into his back. It was a six pointed star, each point marked with a symbol. He looked back at her and the look on his face erased the words she was going to say from her mind.

He moved around the bed and Tex watched him as he moved over to her side of the bed. He knelt down and he leaned forward, kissing her hesitantly. He pulled away slightly and she tried to move to follow him, but her body wouldn't respond. "I'll do whatever I have to in order to save her. Just tell him to come get her." Tex watched as he stood up and walked out of the room. Her mind screamed to follow him but her limbs didn't work. Church moved out of the room and finally Tex's limbs moved. She stood up and rushed out of the room, finding the hallway empty. Tex went all the way downstairs but found nothing. She sat down on the couch and stared at the floor in front of her. She had a great fear of what was about to happen.

End Chapter 2


	4. Chapter 3

Redemption Chapter 3

Alessa ran her hand over the familiar scar tissue before her. She traced the cross, line by line, carefully. Alex stirred under her touch but didn't wake. She moved to lie on his back, resting her cheek between his shoulders. Her mind was still racing from what had happened the night before, not to mention the dream she had had that night. She struggled to remember all of it. She could recall sitting in a large chair across from a woman. She remembered red hair, and a red dress, but she found it impossible to remember the woman's face. She remembered they talked about her family, but she couldn't recall what about her family they had talked about.

Alex finally shifted under her and she lifted her head, kissing the skin where her cheek had rested. Alex's eyes eased open and he looked over his shoulder. "A bit amorous this morning. Is it because we were interrupted last night?" He grinned at her and she moved so that he could turn over. Once he had, she took her place lying on his chest.

Alessa's hand moved over his side. "I had a dream, and for some reason…I'm just glad I've got you." She paused for a moment before she spoke again. "I'm worried about Alana. I mean, think of what happened the last time I had nightmares. I'm afraid that something like that will happen again."

"Alessa, her dreams aren't exactly the same. Though what happened last night unsettled me." Alex held her against him as he sat up. "I mean, it's sort of like that time, back before when he was on the couch, and then he wasn't."

Alessa sat up and away from Alex. "That's it. I'm going to go check on her." She got up and moved over to her closet where she started to pick out some clothing.

Alex watched her for a few seconds before he reluctantly got up. "Fine, I suppose we should start the day. If you want, I'll go downstairs, get some coffee and pancakes started."

"Chocolate chips, that should soothe over last night." Alessa slipped on her shirt and moved over to her husband, quickly giving him a peck on the cheek. "Don't forget to use the newer whipped cream, the other stuff expired three months ago and you left it out of the fridge for two days, so it's no good."

"I'll remember." Alex moved to his closet and grabbed some clothing. "You know, this might all just be in our heads. I mean, we've been fearing this since she was born, so maybe we are just overreacting."

"I hope that you're right." Alessa moved out of the room and headed down the hallway toward her daughter's room. She frowned as she realized that the door was cracked open. Maybe Alana had just felt uncomfortable closed up in her room. She moved forward and eased the door open.

Alessa stared into the room, eyes wide. She took in the details—sheets laying on the ground, blood painted on the walls, and Alana missing. "Alex!" There was a bang and a moment later Alex placed his hand on her shoulder. He stared into the room, speechless at the sight.

Alex moved into the room. He moved over to the bed, staring at the blood on the walls. It wasn't just splattered, it was arranged in a series of symbols. Alex looked them over. "What the hell do they mean?" He frowned as he looked over the six symbols.

"What do they mean? Don't you mean where is our daughter?" Alessa took a step back from the room. "She can't have gone far. We need to look for her."

Alex shook his head. "Look around here, Alessa. She's gone, and you know where she's gone. Time is no matter to that place." Alex moved over to one of the symbols and reached up, almost touching it, but stopped. He took several steps back as a look of fear crossed his face.

"Alex, what's wrong?" Alessa moved forward and grabbed Alex's arm, pulling his attention to her. He looked at her, the lingering fear still in his eyes, but most of it had vanished. Alessa glanced over at the symbol and then at Alex. "Come on, we have to do something. I'm not letting it take her without a fight."

Alex smiled at her. "Well, then we'll need a plan of attack. Last time I looked, there wasn't any fog outside, just rain." Alex moved out of the room, glancing back at the room but quickly looking forward again. They moved down the hallway, and down the stairs. "Call your mother. She'll know what to do, I hope." Alex moved through the kitchen, pacing a bit over the tile as he waited.

Alessa let him be. The nervous action wasn't really harming anything and hopefully he would calm down a bit. She grabbed their phone and quickly dialed. It rang several times before she got an answer. "Mom, Alana's gone."

"I know." Tex's voice was oddly calm on the other side of the phone. "Your father told me. I'll be over shortly. There's no fog outside so we'll need a way to get there. I need you to get on the net and see if you can find any place called Silent Hill, at all. Now give the phone to Alex."

Alessa frowned at the last request but forced the phone into her husband's hand before she moved over to her computer and turned it on. She listened vaguely to Alex's side of the conversation. "Yeah, yeah…are you sure…well that doesn't sound like—…no I understand…all right, I'll do it. I'll see you when you get here." The phone clicked off and Alex moved through the house. Alessa watched him go, confused as to what he was doing.

Alessa did a quick search, waiting for what would be found and watching the stairs, which Alex had disappeared up. Sure that he was gone, Alessa opened a second window and pulled up a file of websites. She had been looking for information about Silent Hill for years, despite the fact that Alex and Tex had both told her to leave it alone. She brought up some of the sites that she felt were most useful. As far as she could tell the town must have been somewhere in the United States, though she couldn't exactly tell which state. She'd at least cut it down to a general area.

Alessa was checking over the sites again to narrow it down when Alex returned. She stared at him as he moved down the stairs and toward the kitchen. "Where did you get those?" She stood up and moved toward him.

Alex placed the shotgun on the kitchen table and then put down an axe and machete. "I've been collecting them." He checked over a few boxes of ammunition.

"What I meant to ask was, why do you have all of this? How did I not know about this stuff?" Alessa moved forward, but she stayed a safe distance away from the weapons. "What do you know that I don't?"

"I didn't know anything." Alex didn't look up, completely absorbed in checking over his gun. "I just got a bad feeling when she was growing up. I got more worried as she came to the age that Leonard found you." Alex stopped in his actions, just staring at the table. "Thought that if something came, I should be ready. Guess it didn't do us much good." Alex sat down in one of the seats, slumping a bit.

Alessa moved to his side, looking down at her crestfallen husband. "There was nothing that you could do. How are you supposed to stop something that made no noise, and we didn't know was coming?" Alessa frowned. "Wait, why did you go and get this stuff?"

Alex finally looked up at her, but he refused to meet her eyes. "Your mother told me to get it. Said she knew that I had a stash of weapons."

Alessa sat down beside him, leaning in a bit closer. Her voice was dead serious as she spoke. "Why does mom want you to get weapons?"

Alex finally met her eyes. They were cold and she saw something in them that she hadn't seen since they were teenagers. She saw the same man who had stood before Church and almost let her father kill him. "You know why."

They fell into silence. Alessa stared at Alex and he checked over the shotgun, making sure it was cleaned and in working order. Alessa felt real fear seeping in. Not only was her daughter gone, but Alex wasn't exactly himself. She felt like something was going on, and she was the only person who didn't understand what it was.


	5. Chapter 4

**Redemption Chapter 4**

Tex zipped up the duffel bag, sure that she had everything. She hesitated for a moment before she moved up the stairs to Alessa's old room. She'd been keeping it clean just in case that it was needed, and partially because it had been hard for her to let her child go. She had left it almost exactly as it had been when Alessa had lived there. She moved over to the wall, grabbing the katana that hung over the desk. She'd always thought it was a bit dark that Alessa kept it so close. Alessa had even originally taken it with her when she'd moved in with Alex, but had given it back when she'd given birth to Alana. Tex did admit that having a sword around an infant was a bad idea.

She moved back down stairs, quickly grabbing the duffle bag. She secured the bag over her shoulder and took one last look around her house. She was pretty sure it would be a long time before she saw it again. She locked the door before she moved across her yard to the street. She paused at the edge of her yard. She stared up at the sky, perplexed. It was raining, but only on the street. Her house, yard, and the house across the street were all dry. She hesitated, slowly reaching her hand out. The water fell over her skin, not burning or stinging, just rain.

She moved onto the pavement and started to move, heading for Alessa's home. As she moved along the road, ignoring the fact that she was getting soaked. She walked along the side of the road, finding that all the way along the road the rain was only on the road. There were no people out, just the sound of her steps and the rain hitting the ground.

There was a meow behind her and Tex turned to find a pure black cat, standing in the road behind her. She wasn't really sure where it had come from. It stared at her, emerald green eyes boring into her. A new sound reached Tex's ears. The sound of someone running, fast. She looked down the street and stopped as she recognized the person. He was running toward her, but he didn't say anything.

He didn't slow as he neared her, running right pass and on down the road. Tex looked after him, not understanding where he was running. That was when she realized something was very wrong. The rain was no longer falling, it was rising. The water that coated the ground was sucked back up, drop by drop toward the sky. There was a hiss behind Tex and she turned to look back at the cat who still stood in the road. She took a step away from it as the feline arched its back and hissed again. Tex felt uneasy, as though she was missing something. She turned, looking for him, but he was gone again, just an empty road.

"Leonard." Tex hung her head, not sure what to do. He'd been there, so close she could have reached out and touched him. Then he was gone, like it seemed he always was. Tex turned back around and frowned as she found that the cat had vanished. She didn't know what was going on, but once more the rain was falling. Tex took a deep breath, clearing her head. Times like this, when it came to that town, she always felt like she was losing her mind.

She continued down the road, keeping an eye out for anything that might be out of the ordinary. She didn't see anything else, but she kept running over what she had seen. She couldn't figure out what it all meant. Everything with Silent Hill seemed to mean something, though it wasn't usually something she understood. Tex reached the house, not bothering to knock and just walking right in.

She found Alex and Alessa in the kitchen, weapons all set out on the table. They didn't speak, didn't even look up when she entered the room. "Please tell me you aren't planning what you are?" Alessa finally looked up, her gaze pleading.

Tex took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "We're going to do what we have to do. What your father told me to do." She set her bag down on the table, followed by the katana. "Now, tell me exactly what happened."

"We woke up, Alessa went to check on Alana, she was gone." Alex eyed the katana. "What exactly is it that he told you we needed to do? You didn't explain on the phone."

Tex looked over the weapons that Alex had set out. "He said that he was going to save her, but that he couldn't leave. We have to go and get her. He wants me to take you, Alex, and go to Silent Hill. He wants you to stay away, Alessa."

"Like hell I'm going to do that. She's my daughter. I'm not going to sit here and just hope that you come back." Alessa crossed her arms. "Why did you bring that anyway?"

Tex's gaze turned to the katana. "Because we might need it, and when he used it, it was useful against the monsters." She stood up from the table. "I'm going to go look in Alana's room for any clues that might be able to help us." As she moved past him she locked gaze with Alex for just a second, pleading with him to convince Alessa to stay behind.

Tex moved up the stairs. She could hear Alex talking even though the words were too muffled for her to hear exactly what he was saying. She moved down the hallway and slowly entered Alana's room. She looked over the symbols. They seemed familiar, but she didn't know from where. Tex moved over to the desk, searching the drawers. She pulled out a notebook and then a pencil, quickly drawing the collection of symbols.

When she finished Tex started to look through the room again for something less obvious. She sat down on the bed, disappointed that she didn't notice anything. Maybe she was looking for something more subtle. She looked toward where Alana would have slept, almost able to see her lying there peacefully. Something caught Tex's attention and she reached over, grabbing the item. The journal felt old in her hands, the eagle on the cover worn and faded. She searched for any title but found nothing. Tex flipped through the pages until she found an entry.

_Dear hell I don't have time for this, _

_Things are about to get bad. Without actually being able to talk to It, I can't tell exactly what It wants me to do. I just have to take a guess and go for it. I told Her what to do, which is proof that I'm an idiot. I know her, so I had to contact a second, hopefully reliable, backup option. Now that I think about it, I'm an idiot for trusting him to do what I told him to. The sirens seem so loud lately, and I don't feel It's presence to tell me what it wants. They keep following me, all of them, but the monsters keep attacking. I don't even know what's going on any more, not that I ever really understood it. There is much to do, and I have no idea at all where to start._

_Frustrated and pissed,_

_Running out of things to call myself._

Tex sat, staring at the page. She had no idea what was going on, or what any of it could mean. She wondered if it had been written by Alan. She doubted it, as it just didn't sound like something her grandchild would write. She shut the journal, grabbing the notebook and tearing out the page. She folded it and put it in the front of the journal. Tex stood, but stopped as she spotted Alex in the doorway. "Did you convince her not to come?"

Alex shook his head. "She's as stubborn as you and she can still beat me up." Tex started to move out of the room but he stopped her. "I don't believe what you said down stairs."

Tex frowned. "I told you what he said. We need to be preparing. Alessa isn't going to let it go, so we'll have to be looking after her."

"First, I have no doubt in my mind that Leonard told you not to go. He would want to protect you, but I would have to go there. I just know I do." Alex closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't know what it is about that place, but when it comes to it, I just…I know things and I'm different."

Alex opened his eyes and Tex could see the worry in his eyes. "You don't need to worry about me, and if you're worried about how Alessa will think of you after seeing whatever this other side is, you shouldn't. She married you despite the fact that you're just as lazy as your father, as annoying as your other father, and as horny as Tucker. If she married that version of you, there's no you that you could be that she wouldn't be able to handle." Tex pushed past him, moving downstairs.

As Tex entered the kitchen and as soon as she did Alessa moved over to her. "Where did you get that?" Alessa pulled the journal out of Tex's hands. She flipped through it and frowned as she reached the end. "There's nothing in it. That can't be." Her shoulders fell.

"What do you mean there's nothing in it. I just read an entry in it." Tex took the journal back and flipped through the pages. They were all blank, void of anything. She didn't understand how that could be. "But it was just here." She flipped through it again and found nothing. Alessa sat down at the table. "Why does this thing matter anyway? When I read the entry it sounded like a crazy person."

"That 'crazy person' is dad. That's his journal. I found it last time. It sounds crazy but he's just talking about stuff like we know all the facts, but we don't."

"That's because it's a journal." They both turned to Alex as he entered the room. "He's not writing it for us. He's writing it to himself, and he knows what he's talking about." He turned to Tex, serious. "What did the entry say?"

Tex tried to remember exactly what it said but she was finding it hard. "It said something about…he didn't know what to do. Something about a second source that he contacted last night, or something like that. I don't really remember what it said."

Alex scowled, thinking things through. "Do you remember at all if there were any hints to who the other person he contacted might have been?"

Tex tried to remember, but nothing came to mind. The more she thought about what she read, the harder it seemed to be to remember. "There weren't really any hints. I don't even know if it's someone that we know."

Alex crossed his arms. "We'll have to keep checking the journal. We might get hints of what's going on, if we can decipher what he's written." He turned to Alessa. "There's a gym bag in our closet, grab it and put our weapons into it." He then turned to Tex. "Can you get us tickets or at least some way to get to Silent Hill."

"That depends on where Silent Hill is," Tex answered.

"From what I can tell, it is somewhere on Earth, in the old United States. I cut down the region, but not exactly where. We might be able to find locals that will know." Alessa stood up, moving out of the room to get the bag.

"I can get us to the area. I have plenty of friends on Earth." Tex moved over to the phone and started to dial. "What are you going to do, Mr. Suddenly-in-Charge?"

Alex frowned. "I haven't really thought of that." He stopped and turned as there was a knock on the door. "I think I'll answer that."


	6. Chapter 5

Redemption chapter 5

Alex walked back into the kitchen and Alessa and Tex looked toward him. Tex groaned as Grif and Simmons appeared behind him. "What are they doing here?" Tex leaned a bit on the table as she looked at them.

Simmons pointed to Grif. "Blame him. He woke up last night screaming Church's name and then said that we had to come here." Simmons flopped down into one of the chairs. He crossed his arms and looked very agitated.

"What's wrong with him?" Alessa looked at her father-in-law. Simmons didn't answer, looking away from them all.

"He's just mad that I was calling out for Church." Grif looked over the supplies on the table. "I know what you're planning, and I'm coming with you." Tex frowned and was about to argue but Grif held up his hand. "Don't try to argue, I'm coming with you and that's final. Church came to me in a dream, told me they took Alana." He looked to Tex. "He told me you were going to go there and get her back. She's my granddaughter, so I'm going to help."

Tex raised an eyebrow. "You, of all people, you want to go out and look for work?" Tex frowned as Grif stared at her. She felt uneasy under his gaze, like there was something that he wasn't telling her. She took a deep breath and let it out. "Fine, I'll get another ticket."

"Make it two." They all turned to look at Simmons. "What? Grif will get himself killed without me there. I need him or Donut will be the only person I'll have to talk to beside Sarge."

Tex rolled her eyes. The fact that he couldn't just say he wanted to stand by his husband was just sad. "Fine, I'll get two more tickets." She stood up and moved toward the phone. "I'll call the guy. Someone see if we can get any medical supplies. If we get hurt, then I don't want it to slow us down."

Alex nodded and moved over to Alessa. "Why don't you gather that? You know that kind of thing better than the rest of us." She nodded and stood up, moving through the house to the upper level to find the supplies.

There was another knock on the door and Alex groaned. "I'll get it." He got up and moved toward the door.

"That will be Sarge," Simmons said.

Tex frowned at him. "Why did you call Sarge?" Grif frowned and tilted his head to the side. He shot her a 'why do you think' look and Tex nodded. "Right, he's a kiss ass."

The aged red Sergeant stormed into the house. "Why was I called here?" He looked to Simmons. "You better have a damn good reason for pulling me away from my…Never mind what I was doing. Just answer the question."

"Sarge, I really think we still need to pick a color." Donut walked up behind him, flipping through a series of photos. "I really think that the darker browns would be the best choice."

"I think you should make his hair purple." Caboose grinned behind him. "That would be a good color."

"Caboose, be quiet." Tucker pushed the blue rookie a bit. "Purple is a stupid color. He should make it blue. That would piss him off." Tucker chuckled a bit. "So what's going on?"

Tex looked over the group. "What are you all doing here? Who didn't show up? Just so you all know, I'm not taking you guys with me."

Caboose looked around. "Take us with you? Where are you going?" He seemed excited. "Can I go? Can I go? Can I go?"

"My lady isn't here. I gave her a good workout so she needs to get her sleep. I'm going to tell her what's going on when I get home, after I'm done giving her another workout." Tucker grinned as Grif glared at him. "Oh shut up. I can talk about what I do with my wife however much I want to." He turned to look to Tex. "So where are you going anyway?"

Tex frowned at him. "We're going to Silent Hill."

"Oh, then you can count me out." Tucker put up his hands and took a step back. "As much as I'd like to see my monster baby again, I've got a normal human one and I'd like to be alive to raise it."

"Oh, there is no way in hell that I'm going back to deal with that stuff." Sarge shook his head. "I'm done with it after the last time. No more evil pink ponies or evil robotic monsters."

"I think I'm going to pass as well. I'll just give Sarge a new fresh look. We're going to get him a whole new wardrobe, and then put on this anti-aging mask, and then we're going to dye his hair a much fresher color." Donut had launched into all out rant about how they were going to improve Sarge.

"Wait, isn't that the place where Church is?" Caboose looked around, excited.

Tex frowned. "No, that is not where Church is." She glared at the others, warning them not to go against what she'd said. If Caboose thought that that was where Church was then he would demand that he could come.

"No, I think that's where Church is. I want to go. I have to go, I want to see Church again." Caboose was jumping up and down a bit.

"Just let him go, Tex. What harm could it really do?" Tucker frowned at her.

Tex glared at him. "He could do a lot of damage. You do remember who he is."

"You can't take Caboose." They looked to Donut. "I need his help to make over Sarge. I can't do it on my own. It's at least a two man and one woman job."

"So then you're getting Tucker and Caboose to help you." Simmons chuckled.

"I'm not sure if you're calling me or Donut the girl in that." Tucker frowned, trying to work it out in his head.

"Well you knocked-up Grif's sister so you have to be a guy…though if you were pregnant…I don't know even which one of you I was calling a woman." Simmons shrugged.

"Dude, don't bring my sister into this. She doesn't actually need a guy to get pregnant. I'm pretty sure she might be asexual and able to reproduce on her own." Grif scowled and crossed his arms.

"Lighten up man, she's a grown woman. She can have sex with her husband if she wants to. By the way, Tucker, does she know she's married? I could never tell if she actually knew or she was just going along with whatever you say." Simmons leaned forward on the table.

"Of course she knew that she was marrying me. I know she can be forgetful, or stupid at times, but she knew what was happening." Tucker glared at him. "At least I didn't have to petition a committee so that I could get married."

"Would you all shut up!" They all looked to Alex. He looked furious at them. "You all are just sitting around with your stupid little arguing and my daughter is out there, in a place filled with monsters, probably scared to death. You're all wasting my time with little insults and jokes. If you aren't with us to go save my daughter, then get the hell out of my house!" Alex jabbed his finger at the door.

"Wow, didn't know you had a backbone." Sarge nodded. "Definitely a red." He turned to Donut. "Come on, you were still picking out which clothing to throw away."

Donut grinned. "That's my favorite part." He stopped and looked to Caboose. "Are you going to come with us?"

Sarge was already heading out the door. Caboose watched him and frowned. "I can't abandon my friend, but Church is my friend too."

Tucker put a hand on Caboose's shoulder. "I'll be serious with you, Caboose. Church would want you to help Donut. Me and him used to talk about how awful Sarge's style was. If you help Donut fix that then you'll be removing one thing that annoys him from the world."

Caboose smiled. "Then that is what I will do." Donut linked arms with him and started to pull the blue soldier out of the house to follow Sarge.

Tucker looked over at Alex. "I don't know where you got that backbone, but it wasn't from your fathers."

Alex glared at him. "Where I got my backbone has nothing to do with you. Get out if you aren't helping us."

Tucker put up his hands. "Fine, I'm leaving." He turned and moved out of the house.

Alex walked behind them, shutting the door as soon as they were all out. He returned to the kitchen and found everyone staring at him. "What?" Alex jumped a bit as a hand grabbed his rear. He turned to find Alessa moving up behind him, medical supplies in hand. "What was that for?"

"I heard you from upstairs." She put it down on the table. "I think that standing up for our daughter like that deserves a reward."

"Well you have two hours to reward him." Alessa looked to her mother. "I just got a message back from my friend. Our flight will leave in three hours, I want to be leaving for the terminal in two." Tex turned to Alex. "You're going to have to sneak out of the community with the weapons. We can't get through the check point with swords and guns."

Alex nodded. "I know a way out."

"I know you do. Don't think I don't know that you used to sneak Alessa out and go to that place." Tex glared at him and Alex shifted a bit nervously under her gaze. Tex waved it off. "Anyway, you can use that to get out with the weapons. I think I know someone that can sneak them onto the ship, or at least get us through customs with them." Tex looked around at the group. "Grif, Simmons, go home and change into proper clothing for going to Silent Hill."

Grif and Simmons nodded and stood up. "We'll be back in less than two hours." The two men stood up and moved out of the house.

Alex moved over to Alessa. "Are you all right, Sweetheart?"

Alessa shook her head. "I'll be better when we have our daughter back." Alessa looked over her clothing and sighed. "I'm going to go see if I can find some better clothing for dealing with whatever that place will toss at us." She moved out of the room and up the stairs.

Alex watched her go and Tex sighed. "Go on. Though, if she does reward you, try to keep it quiet. I'm going to try to pack up all our supplies in one bag. That will make it easier."

Alex nodded and moved up the stairs. Tex leaned back in her chair rubbing at her temples. She was concerned. She'd never seen Alex act that way, and even if it was about his daughter, it was still very out of the ordinary for him. She remembered how he had acted in the church those years ago. She wondered what affect it would have on him to be fully in the town that he was supposedly connected to.

Tex packed up the supplies as best she could in her duffle bag. She sat down on the couch and stared at the journal that she had found in Alana's room. She flipped through the pages and found them empty. Tex sighed and tossed it onto the coffee table. She lay down on the couch and closed her eyes. Maybe she could get a bit of rest before they made the trip. Maybe she'd get lucky and Church would visit her again in her dream. Tex chuckled and rolled over. Yeah right.


	7. Chapter 6

Redemption chapter 6

Things were going smoothly, well as smoothly as could be expected considering they were smuggling weapons onto a ship. The guard at the check point had tried to stop them but Tex had ended up talking him into letting them go. Well threatening was more correct but either way they had gotten through. The easy part had been getting aboard the ship. They'd gone up on a supply pelican. What Tex's friend had failed to mention was that it wasn't a passenger ship. It turned out that it was a cargo ship, stuffed with supplies and weapons being shipped off of the planet and to Earth.

"I can't believe you couldn't get us on a ship that's actually carrying people." Grif was setting up an area a bit of a distance from where Tex had set up. They were putting down blankets in places to sleep for the trip. "I mean at least get us into the staff quarters."

"I wasn't willing to waste any time waiting for a human transport. The longer we wait the longer Alana is in that place." Tex smoothed out her blanket and set her area up. "It'll be a longer ride to Earth without going into cryo, but it should be straight so we won't have to worry about sliding around while the ship is traveling."

"Is it really safe for us to be back here?" Simmons frowned moving out of the area he'd set up for them sit around, eat, and talk while on the long trip. "It's not like they know we are here. What if there's a fire and they vent the atmosphere? Wouldn't we be killed?"

"There's nothing we can do about that. We better just try not to start a fire." Tex rolled her eyes. She finished her area and moved to where Simmons had been working. He'd set up some crates in a circle and on in the center to be a table. "Not bad."

"It's the best I could do with what we've got. It's not like there's any furniture down here." Simmons crossed his arms and looked over as Alessa and Alex joined them. "You get all set up?"

Alex nodded. "It's kind of hard finding a place that people are likely not to see us." Alex looked around. "Will they even really come back here to check on us?" He moved over and sat down on one of the crates. "I mean, can we basically relax?"

Tex shrugged. "They shouldn't. Most of the crew should go into stasis and we should be free to be here without issue. But just in case I want to check and be sure we know all the ways they might come in. Alex, you're with me to search. Simmons, see if you can hack into the system and see how many crew members they are keeping awake and if we can sneak into the kitchens. Grif, go check over our weapons, I want a full list of what we brought and what you brought." She then turned to Alessa. "You, see if you can find anything that would make these crates more comfortable."

They all split up and Tex led Alex through the cargo bay. When they got a good distance away from the others Alex stopped walking. "So then, what did you really want to get me away from the others for?" He crossed his arms and leaned against one of the containers. "And don't give me any of that crap about how you don't know what I'm talking about."

"I'm not going to, because I do want to talk to you." Tex checked to be sure that they were far enough way before she turned back to Alex. "What's going on with you?"

Alex frowned at her. "What are you talking about? I'm worried about my daughter, I'm hoping to get all my family home safe. The only thing that's wrong with me is the thought of once more being anywhere near my fathers when they go to sleep."

"I mean like what happened back at the house. I know you, Alex, and that sort of anger and force isn't the Alex that I know. It reminds me more of the one that I saw in that church back when you were a teenager." Tex made sure she kept eye contact with him. She wanted to be clear that she wouldn't accept lying.

There was an odd shift to Alex's stance. His shoulders slumped a bit and his features became grim. His eyes seemed to look pass Tex. "There is no room for weakness with Silent Hill. It is a place of darkness and even a bit of waver in resolve and that darkness can swallow you up." His gaze fell and Tex could see a hint of fear in his eyes. "I used to have these dreams, dreams of fighting that place. Of a family that wasn't mine, I swear it." His last words sounded pleading, as though he was begging for it to not be true. He took a deep breath and seemed to calm. "Alessa stopped them. When she's around me when I sleep, I stopped having them."

Tex watched him, a bit unnerved. She suddenly didn't feel so sure about her daughter sleeping next to Alex. Something was going on, and she had no idea what it was. The only thing that was for sure was that it had to do with Silent Hill, so she'd have to keep her eye on him.

"Oh, don't look at me that way, Tex. I'm still the same Alex. Nothing has changed about me. Alessa keeps me who I am. I mean, think of when I made that outburst. Alessa wasn't around. She's here now, and I'll keep her close to me. I mean, I have to protect her anyway." Alex ran a hand through his hair. "Listen, there's no turning back, and I know that you aren't supposed to be here." Alex shook his head. "I don't know how, but it just feels wrong."

Tex stiffened at his words and then relaxed. "Well I'm here, so no matter how you feel, I'm not turning back now."

"And the same thing goes for me." Alex glared at her. "I am not leaving, and I know that I am supposed to be here. I have to save my daughter. I know how bad that place is."

Tex raised an eyebrow. "How do you know how bad it is?" Alex looked at her, surprised and confused. He didn't seem to understand the question. "You just said you know how bad it is. How do you know how bad it is?"

Alex shook his head. "I didn't say that."

Tex groaned. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. I don't get what's going on with you, but if it's any real danger, I won't hesitate to take you down."

Alex took a step toward Tex and stood only inches away. "I am never a threat to Alessa." His voice was cold and angry. "I was sent here to…" He frowned and furrowed his brow. His eyes closed and he shook his head. Tex raised an eyebrow. "It…it's like I knew something, and now I don't." His voice was heavy with confusion. "I know that something is going on, something I don't understand, but I sure as hell know that Leonard wouldn't have allowed me anywhere near his daughter if it was a danger to her."

Tex frowned. "Why did you just call him Leonard? You usually call him Church."

Alex shrugged. "I don't know, I just did. Not everything has to be something." He sighed and shook his head. "You're getting to be paranoid."

Tex scowled at him. "We're about to go to a town full of monsters. I think being a bit paranoid would be a good thing."

Alex shook his head. "But not of me. Didn't Church tell me that I needed to be here? He wouldn't have sent me with you unless he knew I was safe." Alex shook his head. "I'm done with this conversation. I can't believe you are questioning my dedication to your daughter. That's like you questioning Leonard's dedication to you two."

"First, you did it again, called him Leonard. Stop doing that." Tex wasn't sure why it bugged her so much, but it did. "Second, I can't believe you'd dare to compare yourself to Church."

"You know," Alex chuckled. "It's kind of stupid that I'll call him Leonard and you keep calling him Church." Alex stopped laughing and became a bit more serious. "My love for Alessa and Alana is like Leonard's love for you and Alessa. They are my family. Really, we're just like you, but younger."

Tex paused for a moment. "Are you calling me old?"

Alex looked at her, seeming to have realized that he had insulted her. "Well you see." With that he turned and ran back toward the others. Tex stormed after him, finding Alex trying to hide behind Alessa. Now that was more of the Alex that Tex was used to.

"What are you doing?" Alessa frowned at her mother. "Do not kill my husband. Soon enough there will be enough other things trying to do that for you."

"Aw, you're not going to defend me?" Alex pouted at Alessa. "What, you don't love me?" He was putting on his best sad puppy face.

"You do realize that he got that from you, right?" Simmons moved over to join the group, moving over to Grif's side.

"Your point? You still fall for that puppy look every time. Why do you think that you're on the bottom?" Grif smirked and crossed his arms.

"For the last time, stop talking about that stuff around me." Alex shivered. "I really don't need to have those memories brought up." He shook his head, trying to clear the memory.

"Can we just stay on a more serious note?" Tex pulled their attention back to her. "Simmons, what did you find?"

"I found out there's only like three engineers that are active to keep a watch on the slip space drive. Other than that, there's no one at all, not even security. Though, that also means there aren't really any staff quarters. It does mean that we can use the kitchens if we want to make a hot meal." Simmons seemed rather pleased with what he'd found.

"Good, we'll do that for dinner tonight." Tex nodded and then frowned. There wasn't really much for them to do. "Well, I didn't get much sleep last night cause of the dreams. I'm going to take a nap, wake me when Simmons has made food." Tex moved past the two men toward her own area that she had set up.

Tex had set up her things in a corner between a pair of containers. She wanted to be shielded, have some privacy. She settled down on the blankets she'd lain down, grabbing her bag. Tex dug around in the bag until she pulled out the journal. Tex flipped through it, silently hoping that there would be something there that would ease her mind. She was still unsure about what was going on with Alex, or if she was making a mistake by going. She didn't know what to expect or even really what they would do when they reached Earth.

There was nothing in the journal, not even a single mark. Tex tossed it beside her pillow and lay down. She closed her eyes and after several minutes of frantic thought she managed to clear her head enough to fall asleep.

Tex's eyes opened and she looked around her. The walls were made of stone and there was barbed wire everywhere, clinging to the stone like vines. Tex tried to stand but found that she couldn't. She looked down and found that instead of hands she had large black paws. She didn't have any idea what was going on, but she was sort of starting to panic.

"So then, you're awake." Tex turned to the voice and froze as she spotted Church. "Well that's good. We didn't do too well. Probably should have taken a more tactical approach then just walking up to one of them." He grinned and Tex frowned as she spotted the blood that coated his teeth. "I really wish I had my armor back."

Tex forced herself onto all fours. It felt right, like that was how she was supposed to stand. She slowly moved forward, seeing what was the source of the blood. Church's stomach was bleeding, though he was trying to put pressure on it and stop the bleeding. Tex stumbled over to him and lay down beside him.

"I think I'm starting to get it, girl. I really think I am. I mean, I really don't get it, I never have, but maybe I get it." Church took a deep breath, groaning as it seemed to cause him more pain. "I don't think I understand half of what I say most of the time. This place seems to do that too me. I know things, but I don't know them." Church chuckled. "I'm living in a hell hole with no logic. It's Blood Gulch all over again."

Tex opened her mouth to say something to Church but there were no words. Her mouth let out a low growl rather than any recognizable speech. She couldn't seem to understand what was wrong with her. It hit her, this wasn't her body, it was some, or something else's body.

Church stared at her, reaching out and grabbing the side of Tex's face. She could feel his hands tug on, what was that? Fur? He stared into her eyes and frowned. "What have you done?" There was a loud roar and something hit Tex.

She sat up, breathing heavily. She shook her head, trying to clear it. She was still on the ship, still in her little area. What had happened? What was with that dream? Tex grabbed the journal and flipped through it. Still there was nothing and she cursed. That dream had been so real, like it always was. Though she'd never had a dream like that. Tex groaned and lay back down. Why could none of this be simple or straight forward?


	8. Chapter 7

Redemption Chapter 7

She could hear water dripping, or at least she hoped it was water. Everything was dark in the small room they'd put her in. The only light was a single shaft of that came through the window on one of the walls. It was unnerving how the light stayed in that single shaft, leaving everything around it was pitch black. It was unnatural but it was the only place she felt safe. She'd never been afraid of the dark in the past, but this was different. This wasn't just an absence of light. The darkness here chilled her to the bones when she moved from the light.

She sat on the cold stone floor, knees tucked against her chest, face buried in her knees, and hands clamped over her ears. She didn't know how long she'd been here, but she wanted to go home. She'd heard people screaming like someone was killing them not long ago. There had been sound of flesh and metal dragging. She'd heard various cries and roars of anger from outside of her room. She didn't want to know the source of the sounds.

She was trying so hard to block them out but the dripping seemed to be forcing its way in. Each drop echoed in her head, taunting her inability to keep it out. She whispered to herself over and over. "He'll come save me, he promised. He'll come save me, he promised."

The light suddenly vanished and her eyes shot open and she looked to her window. The former dim light had been replaced by darkness and a pair of glowing red eyes. She stared into the demonic eyes which seemed to be looking into her soul. She felt an odd sense of calm, not fear as she expected such a sight would cause. There was no real face to see, just the glowing eyes. The eyes shut and it became nothing but light consuming darkness. She waited for the eyes to open but they didn't. The darkness vanished like flames dissipating through the air. She was once more left sitting in the dim natural light of this place. She no longer noticed the dripping though it continued. She was too focused on what that creature had been and why it had calmed her.

The door to the room opened and she looked to the figure. She recognized it as one of the few people that she'd met since her arrival. She hated the woman, she was a symbol of her incarceration, and she made the hair on her arm stand. It all left her feeling uneasy whenever she was around the woman. She scooted to the edge of the light as far away from the woman as she could get. The woman crouched and set down a tray of bread and water. It was what they'd been giving her since she'd arrived.

She made no move to take the food. She just sat, glaring at the woman. "Now, Mother, you must eat." The words were in such a sweet tone but they made her skin crawl. The woman pushed the tray closer.

She still didn't move to take it. She didn't want their food. She didn't understand why the woman kept calling her mother either. She turned her gaze to the woman, looking her square in the eyes. "He'll come to save me. He promised he would."

The pleasant smile slipped from the woman's face. She'd never seen the woman upset but she guessed this was what it looked like. "He cannot get you. Our faith is too strong and he is too weak. He is never coming. He has tried, and every time he has failed. He cannot stop what is going to happen. We will bring in the new, and filth like him will be burned." The woman didn't give Alana a chance to say anything back. The woman stood and moved out of the room. The door shut and once more she was left alone.

She moved back to the center of the light, pushing the tray away. She didn't trust the food they gave her. For all she knew it might have been drugged. She hadn't eaten anything since she'd arrived, but somehow she didn't feel hungry. It seemed to just be another unnatural part of this place, like the light. She knew it should bother her more, but a lack of hunger was the last thing she'd be thinking about. She thought about what the woman had said. There was no way she was right. She had to believe that he'd come for her. She knew he'd come for her.

A sound so simple and normal it seemed to echo loudly through the room, down to her bones. The sound of a cat's meow. She looked to her window where a black cat with dark cobalt blue stripes sat, staring at her. Loving green feline eyes stared down at her. She'd never seen a cat like it, and she couldn't tear her gaze away. She got to her feet, not sure what she was doing, but somehow doing what the cat was asking her to do.

She moved into the darkness, finding a dresser or desk below the windows. She climbed on so she could reach the window. When she reached it the cat jumped down. She was horrified by the sight that met her. Outside her window was a grassy field that stretched toward a body of water. The field was covered with bodies. Some she recognized as humans, some were grotesque monsters, while others were too torn up to be identified as anything other than ground meat. Several of the bodies were twisted in unnatural ways, bone poking out of skin. The area was coated with a layer of blood making the grass look red. Up by the window the smell of death seeped through the glass.

She tried to back away from the window, causing her to fall to the ground. She felt tears start to form as she felt pain set in. She hurried back to her little spot of light, as though it could save her from the horrors outside.

She lay in the light crying until she finally calmed down. She didn't know how long she'd been laying there but it had felt like hours. She finally looked up to the window and was shocked by what she saw. Sitting on the window sill was her favorite blue stuffed dragon, Leonard. She scrambled to the window, grabbing the stuffed dragon and holding him to her chest. Just holding him made her feel calmer. She was just about to jump down when she saw something more outside the window. In the middle of all of destruction the feline sat. It moved in an odd line through the bodies. The feline went backward forward along the path. It took her a few minutes to realize the cat was underlining a word. She realized that from her window the bodies sort of lined up to make a single word. Sirens.

She moved away from the window, returning to the little patch of light. She lay down and curled up, clutching her stuffed dragon. She listened intently, waiting for the sound of sirens. She'd heard them before on the base, and she was sure that she'd know them when she heard it.

She'd been just about to drift off to sleep when it happened. Sirens rang through the air like the creams of a victim cornered by a serial killer. She sat bolt upright as pain spread through her skull. She could hear pounding on wood but it was dulled by the ache in her head. She fell back to the floor, clutching the sides of her head. The pain grew and grew until it caused her to pass out.

Her eyes slowly opened and she found that she was no longer in the small room but a large hall. It reminded her of the main room of a church that her mother had taken her to once. She could hear shouting words but they were all mixed and being yelled at the same time, making it impossible to tell what anyone was saying. She turned to see that damned woman standing beside her.

The voices settled and a single voice rose over the others. "Now we put an end to this foolishness. We cast this demon into the pits of hell for his sins. Removing that which stands in our way." The man was so confident and something in the way he spoke make him seem like he was someone to trust.

A foot kicked her side and she looked over to the woman. "See now, Mother. See that he cannot save you." She motioned toward the head of the room. She turned but did not see what she had expected.

At the front of the hall was a poorly constructed alter. A figure was tied to the wall behind it. His shirt had been torn away and his chest was a mess. There were some long cuts that still dripped blood, several stab marks along his sides, and chunks of flesh missing here and there.

She scrambled to her feet, rushing to the figure. Someone grabbed her and held her back but she'd made her presence known. The figure lifted his head and smiled as he saw her. "Alana." Her name was strained as he spoke.

She froze, staring into his eyes. They weren't full of the light that should have been. His eyes were dulled like a man who'd seen and done awful things. They stared at each other for a moment before she could find her voice. "Dad?"

Before he could answer a man moved forward and stabbed into Alex's chest, hitting his heart. The body went limp and Alana's world went black.

Alex sat up in the make shift bed, covered in sweat. Alessa let out a sigh, just glad to have him awake. He'd been screaming bloody murder for the last ten minutes and she'd been unable to wake him. Alessa put a hand on his shoulder but he didn't seem to notice it at all.

He suddenly got up and Alessa hurried to follow him. She followed him into the communal restrooms that they'd been sneaking into since the crew went into cryo. When she reached the room she found Alex leaning over a sink, splashing water in his face. She moved carefully over to his side.

Alex stared at the mirror above the sink his eyes were unfocused and he was still breathing heavily. "Is he all right?" Tex moved up to Alessa's side, looking at her son-in-law.

Alessa didn't answer right away. "Well, he's awake." She moved over to her husband's side and she put a hand on his back. He still ignored her presence, just staring at his reflection in the mirror. He finally moved, his legs giving out under him. Alessa helped him to sit down on the ground.

"Alex?" The man looked to Alessa and she looked at him in horror. The man that was looking back at her wasn't her husband, it was someone else. She knew the kind look that was always in his eyes, even when he was scared or unhappy, and it was gone. They eyes that stared back at her were a quiet anger, backed by dark deeds and a willingness to kill anything that he had to. Alessa flinched back away from him, not feeling safe.

He closed his eyes and Alex's shoulders slumped a bit. When his eyes opened again this time she was looking at her husband, the man she loved. He looked up at her, confused. "Alessa? Why are we in the bathroom? If you want shower sex then you just have to ask, not drag me in here."

Alessa smacked his arm. "I didn't drag you in here. Don't you remember coming in here?" Alex shook his head. "You don't remember waking up from a nightmare?" Alex shook his head again. Alessa frowned and looked back at her mother.

Tex crossed her arms. "We'll talk about it in the morning. I'm tired, and now that we've got some quiet without him screaming like you told him you'd never sleep with him again maybe I can get some actual sleep." Tex turned and moved out of the bathroom.

Alex ran a hand over his head. Alessa helped him stand but he found that his legs were still weak under him, though he didn't understand why. When they got back to their sleeping area Alex collapsed onto the bed, curling up under the blanket. Alessa sat beside him, staring down at him. She didn't know what had happened, but something had been wrong with him when he'd looked at her in that bathroom. She didn't understand it and it made her afraid. She lay down and as soon as she did Alex grabbed her, clutching her tight to him like she was a security blanket. She sighed and just relaxed in his arms. She'd deal with her fears in the morning.


	9. Chapter 8

Redemption chapter 8

They sat in silence as they ate their breakfast. Simmons walked in, setting down a plate of sausage fresh from the stove. "I made plenty for everyone." He moved over to a box and took off his 'kiss me I'm dutch-irish' apron and set it aside before he joined the group, grabbing his own plate.

No one spoke as they ate until Alessa finally broke the silence. "Are we going to talk about what happened last night?" She looked to Alex.

Alex stared at his food as he ate slowly. "No." That was all he said. From the flat tone he used it was all he was going to say. He poked at his eggs, having hardly touched them.

Tex set her plate down. "Yes, we are going to talk about it. I want to know what happened." Alex looked up at her and his gaze was defiant, telling her he wouldn't talk. "Tell us about your dream."

Alex set his own plate down. "I don't remember it. There's nothing to talk about. I woke up in the bathroom. That's all I remember."

Tex didn't believe him. There was something he was keeping from her and she didn't like it. "I know that's not the truth. What aren't you telling us?"

"That's ridiculous." Alessa looked at her mother, stunned at the accusation against Alex. "Why would he keep anything from us? He wants to get Alana back just like me and you."

Alex looked toward her and hesitated. "It's not that I know something. It's that I do and I don't. It feels like I remember the dream, important things, but when I try to focus on it I can't remember a single detail." Alex hung his head a bit. "I can also tell that we're getting closer, probably not far from the system now."

Grif raised an eyebrow at his son. "How can you tell? I mean the crew is scheduled to wake up today. So we have to be close."

Alex shook his head. "It's not that I can just feel this unnatural sense of dread creeping up the closer we get." He struggled to find words to explain what he meant.

Alessa put a hand on his arms, stopping him. Alex looked at her, silently apologizing for not being more help. Tex studied the man, trying to figure out when the shift had happened. When had he changed from the man who'd been forcefully telling her 'no' to his usual docile self? The change was more subtle, or maybe Tex was just seeing a more forceful side of Alex that she hadn't known was there.

"I have a question." Tex looked to Simmons and waited for him to continue. "How are we going to find this place? We may have narrowed it down to the United States, but that's still 48 states to check."

"Poor Alaska." Grif shook his head. "They never did see those Canadians coming. Now look what became of them."

"I still don't know how they won that war with kindness." Simmons frowned before he turned back to Tex. "Do you have any plan as to how we'll find it?"

"Maybe we'll just get in a car and let your son drive. He says he can feel when we're close to it. We can use him like a Silent Hill bloodhound." Tex shrugged, picking her plate back up to continue eating. "Other than that I have no real plan."

"Wow, even with how little we actually planned out this is still the most thought out plan I've ever been a part of." Grif turned to Alex. "You think you can do it?"

Alex shrugged. "I have no idea but if it's the only plan we have then it will have to do. If we don't think it's working then we can stop and ask locals."

The ship jerked, indicating that they'd come out of slip-space. Tex set her plate to the side. "We should get ready." She stood up and looked around. "Alex, Alessa, go gather the weapons and come back here. Grif, Simmons, gather all the food and health supplies that you can. Meet back here."

Alessa took Alex's hand and dragged him off to get the weapons. Simmons moved toward the kitchen but Grif hung back. Tex frowned at him, not sure why he wasn't going to do what she told him to do.

"I have a question for you." Tex scowled, not sure if she wanted to hear Grif's question. "Why did you come here against Church's instructions? What aren't _you_ telling us?"

Tex just stared at him for a few seconds. "I'm not worried about Alana," Tex finally blurted out. Grif looked stunned and Tex put up her hand, stopping him from speaking. "Don't think that means I don't care. It's just I trust Church. I know he'll save her."

"So then if you aren't here for Alana, then why are you here?" Grif relaxed a bit, waiting for her answer. "What's so important you'd go against Church?"

Tex hesitated, not sure if he'd understand. "I'm here for Church." Grif didn't seem to understand what she meant. "In my dream that Church appeared a woman told me that if I wanted him I had to come get him." Her explanation didn't seem to please him. "Oh, like you have a right to judge me. You get to curl up each night with your husband. I go home each night to an empty bed and an empty house. I think I'm entitled to miss him."

"Miss him, yes, but this is extreme. I can't pretend to know what it's like to not have the man you love." Grif glanced over in the direction Simmons had gone then back to Tex. "Church wouldn't want you to risk yourself like this. It's just plain stupid."

"Well I'm already here so there's nothing you can do about it." Tex turned toward her own sleeping quarters just as Simmons rejoined them with a bag of food. She moved toward her quarters and it seemed that Grif didn't follow her.

Tex reached her area and frowned as she looked down at the bloody blankets. They'd been clean when she'd gone for breakfast. The blankets were drenched and the walls had bloody handprints on it that seemed to drag down toward the floor.

A hiss tore through the air and Tex turned to see a black cat hissing at her. She recognized it as the same one that had hissed at her when it had been raining. She took a step toward it. Tex looked up as a figure appeared behind the cat. She found herself face to face with Church. They stood in silence for a moment. Church seemed displeased, though Tex expected that. She'd directly gone against what he told her to do. Of course he was mad.

"I told you not to come here." He glanced down at the cat as it rubbed against his leg. "Why did you come?"

"I came here for you, Church." Tex started to reach out to her, but stopped. Something was off. She just wanted him to accept, maybe even be happy, that she'd come for him. She reached out, just wanting to touch him, be sure he was there.

Church took a step away from her to stay out of her reach. "You shouldn't have done that. Not to mention you brought Alessa with you. I can't believe you." He was now visibly angry with her. "I told you not to come."

Tex was surprised by the anger, though she should have expected it. "You said this place was about choices." His anger had made her mad. She'd done this for him and here he was, not even happy to see her. "It gave me a choice, a chance, to come try to get you. I made my choice."

Church pinched the bridge of his nose. "Damn it, Tex, you have no idea what you're doing. I can't believe that you rose to the bait. Let's not even get into the fact that you used our missing grandchild as an excuse or that by doing this you're ignoring and going against my choice, against all I've done."

Tex didn't know what to say. He had a point, and she was ashamed a bit, not that she would admit it to him. This had turned into an argument and she wasn't going to lose. "Do you not want to come home?" She was a bit afraid of his answer.

"Tex-" Church was cut off as the radio clipped to his belt flared to life and static filled the air. Church cursed. He pulled a lead pipe from his belt and gripped it, ready to fight. "Stay behind me." He turned so that Tex was behind him.

She looked past him at the fog that was slowly starting to fill the ship. She didn't know how it had gotten in, but it did explain Church, and the blood on her blankets. "What is it?" Tex looked around, not seeing anything in the fog. She could hear the footsteps of something moving closer. She wished she'd kept some of the weapons with her. Instead she'd given them to Alex.

Church shrugged. "Not sure yet. Haven't heard anything to give away what type it is." He glanced back at Tex. "You seriously didn't bring a weapon?"

Tex scolded at him. "I brought some, Alex has them." She was offended he thought she'd come unprepared. She thought he knew her better than that.

A scrapping noise filled the air and Church cursed again. He looked back at her and then put away the pipe, pulling out what appeared to be a pistol. His eyes searched the fog and he glanced back at Tex. "Stay here. I'll take care of him."

"Wait-" Before she could continue there was a loud roar from the fog and Church ran off. She quickly lost sight of him and she cursed. "Damn you, Church. How dare you leave me?" Tex looked around, trying to find anything she could use. She cursed and failed to find anything that she could use to defend herself. Tex finally decided that she'd use her bare hands if she had to before she ran off into the fog to try to find Church again.

She stopped when she reached something lying on the ground. The first thing she realized was that the ground under her feet was a broken road, no longer the metal of the ship. She edged toward the object and realized that the road was covered with blood. She spotted a gun lying on the ground and Tex hesitantly picked it up. The weapon was partially coated with blood. She ignored it and turned her attention to the object that had caught her attention. What it was seemed to be a dead animal, or she hoped it was an animal, that had shards of broken metal sticking out of it.

Tex looked away, not wanting to look at the scene any more. She looked up and involuntarily stepped back. Standing over the dead…whatever it was, was pyramid head. The monster didn't move to attack her, didn't do anything, just stood there. He finally moved, turning and lumbering off, lead away by some unseen force. Tex watched as the monstrous being walked away. Her gaze turned back to the ground but oddly found that the body she'd been standing before was gone. Only she bits of metal that had been sticking out of the body were still there. She picked one up and examined the blood soaked metal.

She found nothing that seemed to be able to help her figure out what was going on so she dropped the shard of metal, turning her attention to the world around her. The fog had now cleared enough that she could see a bit. She was on a vacant weather worn road, surrounded by a think forest on either side. She sighed and looked in the direction that pyramid head had gone. She suspected that it was a way into Silent Hill, so she moved forward, following the way she'd seen him go.


	10. Chapter 9

Redemption chapter 9

Alessa watched as Alex looked through the supplies in the bag. He knew better what weapons they'd come with. Silence hung in the air and Alessa looked around. She had a bad feeling but there didn't seem to be anything around them. Alex suddenly stood up and Alessa looked to him. "What is it?"

Alex looked away and then back to Alessa. "I thought I heard something." He shook his head, grabbing the bag of weapons. Alex turned to Alessa but she was still watching him. "What?"

Alessa shrugged. She really didn't know what to say that wouldn't upset him. She decided on a vague answer. "I'm just worried." She didn't specify about what or who. She just hoped that he wouldn't ask further. All she wanted was go get her daughter and go home with her family.

"You don't need to worry. We'll find Alana. She's safe for now and…" Alex frowned. "What was I talking about?" It was obvious from his look that he really didn't remember. "Well, we should probably get back to Tex." Alex rolled his eyes and Alessa suspected that he didn't want to go back to being questioned by her mother. She couldn't really blame him.

They started to move back to the main area. Alessa followed behind Alex, still holding his hand. She was still thinking over what he'd said. She didn't bother asking about it, she was sure he didn't remember saying it. She squeezed his hand, and he looked back at her. She stared at him, trying to be sure that the man that was standing there was her husband. She wasn't so sure that the more forceful Alex was really her Alex.

Alex sighed and squeezed her hand back. "You don't have to worry about me either. I'm fine." He shifted the bag on his shoulder and then looked past her shoulder. "Well crap." Alessa looked back to see what he did. The space they'd come from was filled with fog. "Let's move."

They started to walk, hoping that they'd get back to Grif and Simmons before something happened. Alex stopped them as he rounded a corner and the space before them was also filled with fog. Alessa sighed and started to walk forward, dragging Alex behind her. He tried to voice disapproval of just walking in but she didn't care. Alessa only stopped when the metal under her foot changed to grass and she found herself faced with a large stone monument.

"What is that?" Alex moved to stand beside her, looking up at the stone. He reached out, running his hand over where a sun had been carved into the stone.

Alessa leaned down and spotted a name with two series of numbers under it. "I think it's a grave. These look like death dates." She stood back up and looked around, seeing the outline of smaller stones vaguely in the fog. "Yeah, looks like a graveyard to me."

Alex looked around and then cursed. "Damn, great, now we lost everyone." He glanced back at the weapons. "Worst, now none of them can defend themselves."

Alessa moved around the grave and Alex followed her. "Well I'm sure they'll find something. We should really see if we can find them though."

"Alana first." Alessa looked back at Alex as he spoke. "We find Alana first, then we find the others and get out of here." Alex started to move forward, moving around a grave. "We have to stay focused." He tilted his head to the side and looked confused.

"What's wrong?" Alessa looked to a grave for a moment, reading the name. It was worn away that all she could see were the letters A-D-A.

"I got that feeling again. The one where I know something, but when I tried to think of what it is it's gone." Alex scowled. "I swear, that's going to drive me insane." Alex scratched at his head. "It's like when you know a word, but you just can't think of it, but something more important."

"Does it have to do with Alana?" Alex shrugged in reply to her question. "Let me rephrase that. I think it has to do with Alana. When we were getting the weapons you said that Alana was fine, then you just stopped, like you forgot what you were saying."

Alex scowled, obviously trying to remember saying any of that. From the look he didn't remember even forgetting what he was talking about. "Maybe you should be worried. Maybe my brain has gone to mush. Well, at least the zombies won't come after me."

Alessa raised an eyebrow at him. "Zombies would still go after you. They want meat, not brains. That's a stupid old myth. Just like the idea that they can speak to say brains." Alessa looked around as the sound of growling filled the air. She finally spotted what was the source and pointed.

In the distance there was the outline of a pair of what seemed to be dogs. Alessa moved forward slowly and realized that they were eating something. She got close enough and froze as she realized that there was something wrong with the dogs. They had no skin. She could see what they were eating, though she didn't know what it was. To her it looked like just a hunk of meat though she could see that there was cloth here and there.

"What do we do?" Alessa looked to Alex but he only shrugged. Great, so neither of them knew if they should attack the canines or not.

Before they could decide a figure ran toward the creatures. It swung a pipe and the metal hit the closest dog in the side of the head, sending it tumbling. The second growled and charged. The figure raised the pipe and put it against the dog's throat as it tackled him to the ground. The dog snapped and bit at the man as it clawed at his jacket. The first canine regained its senses and moved to assist in killing the man.

Alessa was the first to act. She grabbed a rock from nearby and tossed it, hitting the dog that was on the man in the side. It turned its attention from the man and toward Alessa. It moved off of the figure and the second dog turned toward her. The man grabbed the dog that was closest and it struggled to move toward Alessa.

The man put the pipe under the dog's chin and pulled back, holding it from going forward. "Protect her!" The voice was so familiar but at the same time so different.

The canine that was running at her jumped but was knocked out of the air as Alex swung his blade and the machete cut through part of the canine's neck. It fell to the ground and Alex moved before it could get up. He stabbed the blade through the canine's head. It stopped moving and he put his foot on its neck to pull the blade free.

Alessa turned back to the man just in time to see the second canine tear through his throat. She watched in horror as blood spilled from the wound, onto the ground. With one great swing the man connected the pipe with the second canine's head and the skull shattered, sending the body flying. The figure stumbled and then fell to the ground.

Alessa rushed to the man's side to see if she could help him. Her hand moved to his throat as she helped him to lie on his back. She stared down at the man, not believing what she was seeing. There on the ground lay Alex, dying. No, there was something about him that wasn't Alex. He was younger then Alex. Not by too much, but diffidently younger. His hand moved up and lightly touched Alessa's cheek. She could swear that he mouthed her name before his hand fell and his body went limp. She watched the light fade from his eyes and could feel tears in her own.

Alessa looked over her shoulder as Alex moved up behind her. He looked down at the body, a mix of horror and confusion on his face.

Alex finally looked away and moved over toward the thing that the dogs had been eating. "Oh, come on." He threw up his hands and looked away.

Alessa looked toward the thing and was completely confused. There lay a third Alex, though its stomach had been torn open and it was obvious where the canines had been chewing at the body's organs. "Alex, what's going on?" Her husband shrugged. Alessa looked from one dead Alex to the other. She looked at the jacket and then back to the half-eaten corpse. "They look the same."

Alex turned to her. "What do you mean?"

Alessa stood up and looked between the two several times. "They are wearing the same thing. Military jacket, the same pants, their faces even look the same." She looked to her Alex who was wearing just a shirt and a pair of jeans. "You don't look like them. I mean…" She tried to figure out how to explain. "They look younger than you, they are wearing the same clothing, which are different than yours, and…well they just aren't exactly you."

Alex looked at the bodies and then back to Alessa. "But they are me. I mean, I know they're me. Maybe not me me, but they are me." He ran a hand over his hair. "You know what, I really don't care." Alessa looked at him, surprised. "So, this place is making copies of me or something that all die. Well, what does it matter to us? We need to find out daughter. That has nothing to do with the sick perverted games of this place."

Alessa looked down at them and then back at Alex. "I suppose that is true." She looked at each of them and then moved to the one that had been recently killed. She started to go through the pockets of his jacket. "Check the other one."

"For what?" Alex put on a slightly disgusted face. Likely he just didn't like the idea of Alessa trying to loot his dead body. He reluctantly moved to the partially mauled body and started to look though the pockets.

"For anything. Weapons, ammunition, maybe some sort of sign as to why he was here, or where he was going to go." Alessa pulled out a bit of shotgun ammunition. Odd, he didn't have a shotgun, so why did he have ammunition?

"I got a map." Alex held up the paper which was partially coated in blood. Alessa moved over to join him as he unfolded it. They looked over the map but half of it was impossible to read as the blood had soaked it. Alex pointed at a building that had been circled in red. "That's where we should go."

Alessa frowned, contemplating it. "What if all of this is a trap? What if the only reason these two look like you is because we'd trust copies of you?" She wouldn't put it past this place to do something like that. Alex didn't look as convinced. "I'm just worried that we're doing exactly what it wants us to."

"But what if we're doing what your dad wants us to do?" Alessa frowned in confusion at Alex's question. "I just don't see why I'd do what the people of this town wanted me to do. And before you say it, your dad isn't a person of this town. He's a person trapped in this town."

Alessa had to give him that. Church hadn't been born in Silent Hill. She looked back to the map and sighed. "Fine, we'll go there. But we should still be cautious." Alessa looked around and frowned. "Where are all the weapons?"

Alex looked around as well. "I swear I put them down right there." He pointed to a spot but there was nothing. "I don't know where they went. I don't think anyone could have taken them."

Alessa groaned. "I really hate this place, and never assume that nothing could have taken it." She stood up and Alex followed, folding up the map. "All right, you're on navigation. Which way do we go?"

Alex looked around. "Well, from what I can tell this place has to be in the covered up part of the map. That means that we should go south in order to get somewhere that there's an actual landmark that we can use." Alex looked around and spotted the exit of the graveyard. "This way." He stopped and grabbed the lead pipe. He handed it to Alessa and she took it. He raised his machete and nodded. "Now we're at least both armed." With that he turned and started to walk out of the cemetery, Alessa following on his heels.


	11. Chapter 10

Redemption Chapter 10

Grif leaned back against the counter of the small kitchen. He watched as Simmons packed up food in a bag for the upcoming trip. "You know, knowing what's down there, do you really think that we'll want to eat?" Simmons stopped and frowned at his husband. "Oh, come on, you know it's true. That place is like watching a ton of gore movies but you can smell it."

"Would you just shut up, Grif." Simmons packed away a few cans of beans and then shut the cabinet. "We need to stay focused. Besides, we don't know if we're going to see anything at all. I mean, yeah, I saw the room, but I would think that Church would try to keep Alana away from that. I think he'd put her somewhere safe and then we just have to come in and pick her up. Besides, we have no idea when we're going to find the place." Simmons turned from the cabinet but stopped as he realized that Grif was standing only inches away from him. "What?"

Grif leaned in, putting his hands on the counter and trapping Simmons in place. "You know there's always a chance that we won't come back alive." Simmons leaned away and Grif stopped. "We may never get another chance."

"You know I'm not okay with this, Grif. I mean, anyone could walk in at any minute." Simmons put his hands back on the counter, as though trying to get further away from the other man.

"I'm not asking you to do me, idiot." Simmons seemed to relax so Grif leaned in a bit. He carefully touched his lips to Simmons' and it took the maroon soldier a second to respond, as it always did. Grif moved away and Simmons relaxed back against the counter. "See, that wasn't so bad."

"Well at least no one saw us." Simmons glanced around, as though being sure that there wasn't anyone around.

Grif took a step away from Simmons, scowling. "Fine, if you want to be that way, not even admit that kissing me isn't a bad thing, then fine." He turned and moved off to leave the kitchen.

"Grif," Simmons moved away from the counter and Grif stopped. The orange soldier turned back to him but Simmons wasn't looking at his face. "Why is there blood on your hands?"

Grif lifted his hands and looked down at his palms. They were coated with a warm red liquid. He hadn't even noticed it before. "I don't know." The only place that he'd put his hand was on the counter. He looked to the hard counter top and realized that there was a growing puddle of blood there. Grif moved over to stand beside Simmons as they examined it.

"Where did it come from?" Simmons jumped back a bit as a drop hit the puddle. He looked up to the area above it and spotted the blood that was leaking from the cabinet above the counter. Simmons reached out for the handle.

Grif's hand grabbed his wrist and held it back. "What is wrong with you? When blood is dripping from a cabinet you don't open it. There is never anything good in a cabinet like that."

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? You're getting blood all over my shirt." Simmons pulled his arm from Grif's grasp and looked at the bloody handprint on his sleeve. "Besides, don't you want to know what the blood's from?"

"No, because I'm not an idiot who's going to get himself killed five minutes into the horror movie." Grif rolled his eyes. "It's blood, so there's something dead in there. That's all I need to know." Grif paused for a moment as confusion crossed his face. "Though, weren't you just grabbing stuff out of that cabinet?"

"Yeah, so what?" Simmons grabbed a cloth that was sitting a bit away on the counter and started to dap at the blood on his sleeve, cursing as it wouldn't come out. "This stuff smells awful." Simmons held his arm away a bit. "Are we sure this is blood?"

Grif ignored the comment about the smell of the blood. Simmons never did well around blood anyway. "Well think about it for a moment. You were just getting stuff out of there. There wasn't anything dead in there then. Now suddenly there is."

"Are you saying you're curious to what it is now?" Simmons scowled at his partner. It was odd how quickly Grif could switch sides. No wonder he'd never really been on Red or Blue team, more of just a guy that was stuck hanging out in a canyon with both armies.

"Yes, I'm saying I'm curious." Grif reached for the cabinet and when Simmons didn't stop him he yanked it open.

The two men took a step back from the object. Simmons' hand went to his mouth to try to keep out the stench. Grif was too shocked to think of anything to even do. In the cabinet sat a head, though not the head that they would have expected. Lifeless eyes stared out at them, a look of agony still on the thing's face. The fur of the head was matted with blood but it was obvious that at some point it had been blue. One of the creature's horns had been broken off while the other was cracked.

"Well…at least it's not human." Grif reached out, feeling that was he was doing was the dumbest thing he could possibly do. His finger touched the bloody fur and poked at the head. It was cold and didn't move. Grif let out a breath, at least glad that it didn't spring to life when it was touched.

The orange soldier turned back to Simmons, chuckling slightly at how scared they'd been. He stopped when something wet hit his face. His hand hesitantly moved up and his finger touched where the liquid had hit him. He looked up and another drop hit his face. He was glad to find that the liquid was cold, but more importantly that he didn't see any sign of blood on the ceiling.

"What's going on?" Simmons looked up toward the ceiling as the water started to fall more steadily until it was completely raining. "Is it raining inside a kitchen on a space ship?"

"I know it sounds odd, but a dead ox head just appeared in a cabinet like magic. You're really going to question the fact that it's raining inside?" Grif groaned as the rain suddenly became warmer and he noticed the feel of it change. He looked to the ground where he could see the red hitting the ground. "Damn, what is with that town and blood?"

"Blood brings out a primal fear in us." The two men turned to look at the source of the voice. Grif had just opened his mouth to say something when the figure's fist impacted the side of Grif's head. "What did I tell you?"

Grif hit the floor and his hand went to the side of the face. "Nice to see you too, ass hole." Grif glared up at the man, looking to Simmons as he moved between the two men.

"What is wrong with you? Why the hell did you hit him?" Simmons demanded. He didn't look as confident as he was trying for, nor did he really have a proper stance to be considered intimidating.

"I told him to do one thing, and he couldn't do it." The man grabbed Simmons' arm and pulled him out of the way, moving to stand over Grif. "What was it that I told you to do?"

Grif got to his feet, still glaring at the man. "I don't know what you're talking about? You didn't tell me to do anything."

"I trusted you. I trusted you with the things that mean the world to me and you didn't even try to save them." The man took as step forward and grabbed Grif's collar.

"Let go of me. You didn't tell me anything. I have no idea what you're talking about." Grif grabbed the man's hand, trying to get him to let go. He tried to back away but the other man moved with him. Grif tried to take a swing at him but the other man grabbed his wrist.

"I kill things thousand times stronger than you every day before its even noon." The man gripped Grif's wrist tighter.

"So you fight a limp noodle every morning?" Simmons cut in.

"You are really not helping right now." Grif glared at his partner, flinching as the man bent his hand back. "Damn, let me go."

"Let him go. I know it's really hard for you, but could you not be a dick for five minutes." Simons took a step toward the man and grabbed the man's shoulder, much more aggressive than he had been when trying to stand in the man's way.

"You're the only Dick here." The man moved his shoulder, forcing Simmons to let go. "This is business between me and him."

"He is right, you are the only Dick here," Grif agreed. The other man smirked and was about to make a comment when Grif saw an opening. The man's guard was down for just a moment. Grif threw his weight forward, causing the man to lose his balance and they both went falling to the floor. Grif heard the man shout out the word 'no' but it was cut off as they hit the mixture of blood and water below.

Grif didn't feel the floor, just liquid. The two men sank down and Grif finally felt the other man let go. He flailed a bit and righted himself as he realized that there was no floor. Grif swam up and eventually broke the surface. He looked around and found himself treading water in a lake. He looked to his right and spotted the man pulling himself out of the water. Grif swam over toward him pulling himself up onto the dock.

"What just happened?" Grif couched as he lay down on the old wood. He looked up and was surprised as another person appeared. "Alex?"

Alex looked down at Grif and raised an eyebrow. "Do I know him?" He looked to the other man, completely confused.

The man ignored the question. "Did you get it?" He looked around, searching the partially destroyed stairs that headed up toward the town above.

Alex shook his head. "I got killed."

"That sucks." The man turned back to Grif and moved over to him. "I owe no explanation to a man who betrayed me. Betrayed my trust."

Grif caught his breath and stood up. "I meant it, man. I don't remember what you told me. I swear it, Church."

Church didn't say anything, just stared at Grif with a neutral look. He turned around and walked past Alex. "We've wasted enough time." Leonard moved to the stairs and started to walk up.

"Should we just leave him here?" Alex motioned to Grif.

"At this point what he does is his option. You're here and that's all that I wanted." Leonard didn't stop climbing the stairs and Alex followed him.

Grif got to his feet and started to follow after them. He had almost made it down the dock when the wood under him gave out. The two men looked down just in time to see Grif plunge into the lake. "It must have a plan for him." Alex turned his attention back to Leonard and started to follow the other man.

Grif sank into the water. It felt heaver then before and he struggled to get to the surface. When he finally reached air he found that he was lying on the ground. He looked back and groaned as he found he was lying in a puddle. "Damn, does this place even care about physics?" He rolled onto his back and closed his eyes, trying to let his mind catch up to what was happening. His eyes shot open when he heard something stomping nearby. The walking turned into running and Grif forced himself to his feet. He looked around, searching for the source.

The creature crashed through a door, sending wood splinters flying through the air. Grif recognized the creature as the same as the head that they'd seen in the cabinet. The minotaur's muscles bunched and tensed as it turned toward him. Grif didn't wait to see if it was a friend or not. He turned and ran.

Simmons stared down at the water as it started to still. The rain turned back to water and then stopped. Simmons just stared at the liquid, not able to understand. It wasn't deep enough for the two of them to be under the water, and as he moved to where they should be he couldn't feel anything. He stared down at water and wondered if he had missed something. Simmons froze as he felt something grab his ankle. The floor was suddenly gone from under him and he was being pulled down.

Simmons fought the grip and it let go, letting him swim to the surface. Simmons' hand broke through the water's surface and grabbed something made of stone. He pulled himself up and out of the water. He looked around and found that he was in a large fountain. Simmons pulled himself out and flopped onto the ground. He stared up at the wilting trees above him, not understanding how he got there.

"Hey, mister. Where did you come from?" Simmons looked over to see a young boy standing beside him. The brown hair and gray-brown eyes were so familiar. "How did you get in the fountain?"

Simmons sat up and looked at the kid. "Alex?"

The boy took a step away from Simmons. "How do you know my name?"


	12. Chapter 11

Redemption Chapter 11

Alana's eyes opened and she found herself once more lying on the floor of the small room, bathed in the light of the single window. She wondered if all that she'd seen was just a dream. It had to be one, she couldn't believe that her father was dead. She could still see him, hanging there, body bloody and broken. She could still see the knife plunging into his chest, the light leaving his eyes.

Alana had to believe her father was all right, that he hadn't died. She turned to the window, hoping to find new comfort, maybe a sign from her grandfather that it had all been a lie. She wasn't expecting what she saw. Sitting on the windowsill was the little stuffed blue dragon. Blood was splattered across it and there was still a bit dripping from the toy's muzzle. The odd thing was it didn't really look blue. Alana realized that the world was tinted red and the room she was in wasn't the same.

The stone walls were now made of metal. It was rusted in places and in some the outer layer was broken away, allowing her to see the grating underneath. The dresser she'd stood on before looked like something giant had stepped on it, causing it to break in the middle. The wood looked to be rotting, as though somehow it was suddenly decades later. Alana looked to the bed beside her and sat in shock. The sheets were soaked with blood and on top of them lay her father's body. She quickly backed away and her back hit the door. It swung out at the force and she fell onto the floor of the hallway.

Alana took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. She was shaking from the shock. She realized that she was outside the room and looked around the hallway. Just like the room the stone had been replaced by metal plates that were broken and rusting. There was no window but still the red light seemed to fill everything. Alana didn't spot anyone in either direction so she relaxed a bit.

She moved back into the room, closing the door almost all the way. If anyone did come she didn't want them knowing that she could get out. She moved to the bed and looked down at the body. Her father's lifeless eyes stared up at her and her hand reached out, gently closing them. She couldn't stand to see them anymore. Tears fell from her eyes and she hadn't even realized that she was crying. She knelt beside the bed, her hand taking the cold hand of her father. She put her forehead against the back of his hand and just sat there beside him, crying.

Alana didn't know how long it took for her to calm down, but eventually she did. She stood and pulled the sheets from where they were tucked between the frame and mattress. Alana wrapped the sheets around her father's body and stood over him. She wished at this moment that she had some sort of religion that would give her comfort, that would give her something to say, but she had nothing. She moved over to the window and carefully used the dresser to reach high enough to grab the stuffed dragon from the window. She moved back to the bed and looked down at the dragon.

Alana didn't know why they'd killed her father, or even why it was that they wanted her. She didn't care anymore. All she wanted now was to make them pay for his death. She placed the dragon on her father's chest and clenched her fist. "I'll make them pay for what they did to you."

She wanted to just stand there, stand there and see if her anger alone could rip these people down. She knew it wouldn't. She leaned down and placed a kiss on her father's forehead before she stood up again. Alana turned and moved to the door, pushing it open and walking out into the hallway. She took one last look into the room, at her father, before she shut the door.

Alana moved down the hallway in the direction she hoped would allow her to leave. She looked at the walls as she walked. Some spots were just metal that seemed to have scratch marks on them. There were fans built into the walls that were spinning lazily. Behind the fans Alana could see bright light. That explained how there was any light at all in the hallway, though she couldn't really see what the source was. She could see where some places there was blood that coated the wall or where bloody handprints seemed to try to grab the metal before streaking as they were dragged away. There were broken picture frames on the wall, some of them without pictures. Alana ran her hand over one of the pictures to remove the blood. She took a step back as she realized it was an old family picture. It was a picture from when she was just five. She was smiling at the camera with her mother and father sanding behind her.

Alana calmed herself and moved on down the hallway. She didn't understand this place, she didn't know what to do. All she knew was that she wanted to find the person who had killed her father, and kill them. Then she'd find her grandfather, or whichever came first. She continued down the hallway until she came to another door. She pushed against it a bit and it creaked as it open.

The touch had been light but the door swung all the way open. Alana sort of recognized the room ahead. It was the main hall, the one she'd watched them kill her father in. The pews where people had all sat and just watched it happen were scratched up and all moved to the side, as though pushed there. Alana spotted the bodies, torn apart and lying on the ground. Some had been sliced apart, others had evidently been splattered against the wall, while some had been torn in half, the torso on one side of the room and the legs on the other.

Alana finally turned her attention to the main altar, the place where she'd watched her father die. She froze as she realized that the stone platform that stood in the center wasn't vacant. A great mass sat, moving just a little bit. She could see that most of it looked like patches of flesh that had been sewn together with little skill. In a few places there was what looked to be long bones that were just barely covered by flesh. The patches of flesh were connected directly to the flesh on the bones. It moved in a rhythmic pattern, as though the thing were breathing.

Alana looked behind it at the wall where they'd hung her father. The wall was splattered with blood but it looked like someone had gone through with their hand and cleared it away in a specific pattern. She had to look at it for a moment before she realized that there were words. They were smeared a bit and she had a bit of trouble figuring them out. She finally realized what it said. To go against the Church is to go against God. She didn't know what it meant.

Alana moved along the wall, keeping her eye on the thing on the altar. "It won't kill you." Alana turned to the voice and saw the woman sitting on one of the pews. She hadn't noticed the woman before. Maybe she hadn't even been there before. Alana moved toward the woman, still glancing back at the thing. "You can calm down. Everything that was dangerous here is dead." She motioned to all the dead people. "All these sinners and murders are now dead."

Alana finally looked at the woman and she was surprised. Her face looked a lot like her mother's. The only thing that was different were her eyes and her hair. Her hair was cut short and blond, a bit of dirt marking parts a darker brown. Her eyes weren't the familiar bright blue that she knew well. They were a dulled hazel color. The woman didn't seem at all threatening, in fact she only looked a bit older then Alana was.

Alana sat down on the same pew as the woman, several feet away. "How do you know that it isn't dangerous?"

"Well, it hasn't attacked us, and usually things that don't attack me aren't a danger. At least they aren't something I should worry about. Besides, I don't think it's really anything yet." The woman looked to the thing and shrugged. "I'm Heather, by the way."

"Alana."Alana felt that the name was familiar, she'd heard it before. She just couldn't place it. "What do you mean it isn't anything yet?"

"I mean…things are…I don't know how to explain it. What I mean is that whatever that is, it isn't finished forming. New thing are being made, and that's just one of them." Heather motioned to the mass of flesh. "Right now, it's not really anything but a work in progress. For all we know it will be scrapped, cut into chunks of meat and fed to the others."

Alana had no idea what was going on. She didn't understand what Heather was talking about, though she sounded like she understood what was going on here. "Listen, I don't care about whatever someone is making here. All I want is to kill the man that killed my father and then find my grandfather."

Heather frowned. "Revenge doesn't solve anything." She turned her gaze to Alana. "Why would your grandfather be here?"

Alana shrugged. "I don't know why he's here. All I know is that my Mom and Grandmother told me that if I ever ended up here to find him, and that he would protect me. How long have you been here?"

"I've been here for many, many years. Passage of time here is very odd. From what I was told by the soldier and the ghost told me I've been here for hundreds of years." Heather leaned back, turning her gaze up toward the sky. "God was supposed to have taken endless time away from the people. For some reason, for some of us, it gave it back."

"Sorry, I don't really believe in God." Alana looked toward the ceiling and realized that above them there were more bodies, strung up to the ceiling by barbed wire.

Heather shook her head. "I don't believe that what this faith sees as God is anything like a god. Though, I have to admit, you sound a lot like Ghost."

"Who's Ghost?" Alana looked away from the bodies above. She didn't want to stare at such death, though this Heather woman seemed to have no problem looking at the dead."

"Ghost is one like me. Someone trapped here in the eternal quagmire that is our lives." Heather chuckled and then muttered some obscene comment about some woman. Alana only caught a bit of it. "Though, he's an unlucky one. I'm not here every day. I'll be around for a week and then the next time I meet him he says that it's been months since he last saw me. I can never tell if we're just traveling at different speeds in time, or if I'm really just jumping from day to day, only existing part of the time."

Alana furrowed her brow. "I honestly have no idea what you are talking about." She stood up and sighed. "I can't sit around. I should at least be looking for my grandfather."

"Count yourself lucky that for now you don't understand what I'm talking about." Heather was about to say more when the radio pinned to her vest sent static echoing through the church. Heather tensed and stood up. "Damn, should have expected that something would find me." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small gun and a knife. Heather held out the knife to Alana. "This is to protect yourself with."

Something hit the door and the thud reverberated off of the walls. There was another, and then another. Heather raised her gun and aimed at the door. The wood finally started to give way and then a large chunk of it broke, sending splinters of wood through the air. Four identical creatures entered the church. The walked on all fours though their back legs were much too long leaving them looking like wedges that moved over the ground. Their front legs were shorter than the back. At the end of its front legs were what looked like hands. Two long fingers in the middle and curled slender thumbs on either side of the hands. The back feet were wide and consisted of only two toes that lay flat on the ground. Their backs were bowed like they were crouching though they were running on all fours. The creature's necks were long, longer then seemed natural. The lower jaws opened and closed, the four mandibles spreading wide. There were sharp fins jetting from the creatures' head and shoulders. One of them stopped and sniffed at the air and Alana realized that the fins were some sort of metal that was sticking out of their flesh. The entire creature was a sickly gray teal color that looked so out of place on such an odd creature.

Heather kept her gun on whichever one was closest but didn't fire. "Are these ones safe as well?" Alana asked.

"I have no idea. Like I said, a lot of new things. I've never had to deal with these things." Heather watched them stop and then turn toward her. "Then again, maybe they aren't new and I've just been gone since they showed up." The creatures growled. "I wonder if bullets will hurt them."

"Wait, why wouldn't they?" Alana gripped the knife a bit harder. She'd never really held one before but she wanted to be sure that she didn't lose it because she wasn't holding tight enough.

The creatures all turned away from them and looked to the thing on the altar. They ran over to it, circling around the thing. Alana watched as they sniffed at the air around it. Something struck out and for only a moment she saw claws piercing one of the creatures. It roared and then was pulled up under the thing. She heard cries of pain from the creature and blood ran down the side of the altar as she heard something crushing bone. The other creatures all backed off, giving the thing a great distance.

"Well, if it wasn't anything before, it's something now. Or at least that something is now awake." Heather lowered her gun a bit, not pointing it at any particular thing.

"Is that a good or bad thing?" Alana watched as the thing on the altar started to move. "Why do I get the feeling it's bad?"

One great hand moved out from under the mat off skin and touched the ground. There was something wrong with it though. The skin was a grayish blue color that seemed a bit too pale to be a living creature. It looked like it could be a human hand, but the fingers were too long and at the ends someone had put on metallic claws. From the look of it the nails had been put in place by driving part of them into the creature's hand and the skin simply grew over the wound, securing them in place.

The flesh started to move and it slowly spread apart. A second hand joined the first, looking the same. The main mass of the thing shifted and the stitched together skins finally moved. They shifted apart and Alana realized that they were wings. The long bones of the wings stretched out, pulling the stitched together skins that made up the wing sails to their limits.

Alana took a good look at the creature that had been hidden inside. It's long neck arched as it seemed to struggle to hold up its head. She watched as it moved, front legs stretching out and the metal armor on its shoulders cut into the skin of its arm and shoulder. Like the nails the armor appeared to have been clamped in place by spar points on the object and then healed into place. It's skin was the same color as the hands. The metal was different. It was a rusted reddish color. There was a large collar around its neck with spikes like teeth that circled around its neck and pointed up toward the thing's head. Each time it moved its neck the spikes cut into the flesh of its neck.

What really caught her attention was the thing's head. Whatever it looked like she couldn't tell, because there was a large metal helmet that covered its head. The helmet was shaped like a large pyramid. It came to a point a bit ahead of a pair of horns that jutted out of holes in the rear sides of the pyramid. The bottom of the pyramid wasn't flat but rather was bent at the point where the sides came together on the side of the thing's head.

The wings suddenly fell to the floor and the creature let out a roar that made Alana's blood freeze and her bonze vibrate. She could hear the metal around them resonate with the roar and the smaller creatures all ran for cover. One of them didn't get away fast enough and the pyramid headed creature grabbed it. The small creature was dragged back and the pyramid helmet lowered, obscuring Alana's view. The creature cried out in fear and pain and then she heard the crunching sound from before.

The pyramid head lifted its head and she could see the blood dripping from the tip of its helmet. The wings once more lifted up and the creature moved forward. The only thing that Alana could really compare it to would be a dragon, but somehow this seemed so wrong to be compared to even the princess kidnapping and people eating creatures from fairy tales. It started to move toward them, though she couldn't tell if it was looking at them or not. Alana wanted to run, wanted to get away, but when she looked to Heather the woman was just watching the creature, not really afraid.

"Is it still safe?" Alana asked, trying to get Heather's attention again. The dragon moved to be only feet away from them and Alana heard something heavy hit the ground. She looked to the altar and found that it was a large blade that seemed to be the end of the dragon's tail.

Heather didn't answer right away. "Well, I don't think I've done anything wrong and you're only thirteen. Most people haven't done anything to deserve one of those things, if it is what I think it is, so w should be safe."

"What exactly is one of those?" The dragon moved forward and drew its head back. It slammed its helmet into the door and it shattered outward. With the path now clear it started to move outside.

"Well, it's an executioner, or a boogeyman, whichever you want to call it. It's a punisher of people basically. Though I'm not sure if it's for or by Him." Heather suddenly looked to Alana. "I have to go. It was nice meeting you kid. Try not to be killed." Before Alana could say anything Heather took off at a full run moving out of the building.

Alana watched as the dragon moved outside and she followed. She looked up at the building and realized that what she'd been in what some sort of church, though it was hard to tell with it being made out of metal and the amount of barbed wire that covered the outside. It stood two stories tall and at the very top was a cross, and she could see the outline of a body hanging there. It was too far away and that high it was much too dark to be able to really see the person. She was glad for that.

The dragon spread its wings and moved forward. It flapped twice and lifted off just enough to reach the edge of the water. Alana ran down to the shore to watch it, see which way it went. The sirens once more blared and the dragon let out a loud roar. It fell from the sky like a rock and splashed into the water, sinking down, not even fighting its fate. Alana couldn't get away in time. She watched as the red liquid of the water moved toward her. She tried to run and run up the shore but it engulfed her before she could get away. The water hit her and she hit the ground and blacked out.

She came to and the first thing she realized was that the world no longer looked red. The red light had been replaced with the more familiar faint light that she was more familiar with. She looked to the church and it was once more made of stone. The front door was in place, not a bit of damage having been done to it. She wondered if it was a dream, but realized that it couldn't be. She had been in the room. If it was a dream, she wouldn't be outside.

Alana got to her feet and searched the area for any way to get off the island. She found a small boat tied up to a little dock. It was a row boat but there was no way that she was going to just sit around. She figured out which direction the dragon had been going in the red light. She sat down in the boat and started to row, hoping that she was going the right way.


	13. Chapter 12

Redemption Chapter 12

Tex wandered down the metal hallway, still trying to figure out where she was. She already realized that Church had left and for some reason he wasn't coming back. She stopped as she once more heard what seemed to the sound of claws on metal. She'd heard it several times, but she could swear that it was getting louder and louder each time. She wondered if she was moving toward it, but it was hard to tell. The sound echoed down the metal passage and seemed to be coming from all around her.

There was a dull thump, something stomping onto the ground. It was then followed by something metal hitting the ground. It started to become a rhythm. A thump, then metal hitting metal. Tex looked for which direction it might come from but she couldn't see anything. Eventually the faint outline of a figure appeared in the direction she'd come from. Tex took a step back from it as it slowly meandered closer. Its steps matched perfectly with the rhythm but it was too dark for Tex to see much of anything other than the outline. She took a few steps back and then, realizing that she couldn't really defend herself, turned and ran.

Tex jogged down the passage until she reached a fork in the road. She stopped looking up to the orb of light that hung between where the passage split off. She didn't know which way to go. She stopped and listened. The rhythm was still going, but at the same pace. So whatever it was that was following her hadn't picked up the pace to catch her. Maybe she was being paranoid and it wasn't actually following her. Like when a person is driving down a road and the car behind them makes all the same turns. They might have just been going the same way.

She moved to stand under the light, still not sure what direction to take. Maybe she could let whatever it was just pass by and she'd go in the opposite direction that it did. She leaned against the wall and waited. It was unnerving, just waiting for the thing to reach her. She could only sit and wait for the figure as the sound got louder and louder.

Finally the outline once more appeared and Tex waited, trying to decide if she should hide or not. The figure got closer and closer until finally it started to come into view. There wasn't much to the actual outline that she saw. Here and there parts of the figure seemed to be bulky or have something that made it a bit distorted but she couldn't tell. It finally came closer and Tex could make out some of the features. Most of the humanish figure was wrapped in bandages. They circled all parts of the thing's body, tightly wrapped to a point that Tex would think uncomfortable. The thing was that it looked like someone had made the decision at some point that flesh wasn't enough. There were plates of metal that looked to have been bonded with the creature's thigh. One of its feet was mechanical while the other was flesh, the bandages on the soul of its foot soaked with blood. There were patches of metal here and there on the figure's body. The bandages varied in color, though she could really not tell if any of it had at one point been white. Some were gray with filth and the others were a dirty yellow. She didn't want to know how they got that way.

The thing stopped before her, teetering a bit. She could hear something mechanical turning and deep breaths as the creature sucked in air through the bandages. It exhales and the breath was accompanied by a strange whirring noise that echoed on the walls. It just stood there, staring directly at Tex. At least -she thought it was staring at her. She couldn't tell for sure if it was staring at her as its entire head was encased in bandages. One hand moved up toward the head and she watched as it pulled at the wrappings on its face with the bandaged hand. It took a moment but the hand finally found purchase and was able to tug at the cloth that covered its eyes, tearing it away. Tex's eyes widened as she looked into the dull eye that stared back at her. It was just hanging there, no eyelids and barely any flesh to keep it in place in the skull. The flesh was missing from its face, leaving the muscle exposed. It tore more at the bandages and its mouth opened a bit, though it was hindered by the bandages that still clung to it. There was a bit of flesh on the bottom of the jaw but all else was simply muscle or bone exposed.

Tex didn't know what to do. She had no real way of fighting the thing off and it seemed to be focused on her, and now she was sure it could see her. The creature lurched forward, but it wasn't trying to attack. Something had hit it from behind, causing it to stumble. It lost its balance and fell to the floor, shifting as though trying to remember how to get back up.

Tex looked at the person behind the creature and recognized the man. She'd watched him die the last time she'd dealt with Silent Hill. "Harry?" The man smiled a bit at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Harry moved around the creature, giving it room. "Come on, that thing's only down for now. It will figure out how to get back up soon enough." Tex nodded and let Harry lead her off. He seemed to know where he was going as he led her down the passageway to the right.

Tex glanced back over her shoulder and saw what looked like fire rolling through the area they had just left. Rather than casting light the flames seemed to absorb it into their dark black depths. Tex stopped, looking back at the black fire. At first she'd though it was nothing but a mass of flames, but now she could see that it wasn't just on big blob. And arm stretched out from the flames, claws of fire reaching out toward the fallen creature.

"What are you doing?" Harry grabbed Tex's arm and she saw red eyes turn toward her and narrowed as it saw the two humans.

The eyes closed and the flames dissipated into the air. Tex found herself staring into the green eyes of a large four foot tall black tiger that seemed to have been hiding behind the fire. It opened its mouth, revealing sharp white fangs, already stained red with blood. It roared and started to charge.

"Run for it." Harry let go of Tex's arm and just ran for it. She followed after him, hoping that they could outrun the demon feline. Harry took turn after turn and Tex just followed him, though she had no idea where they were going. For the most part things were dark, and she was just following the movement she could see ahead of her, but at places there were lights hung up on the walls

Tex could still hear the heavy steps of the tiger behind them as they ran. She didn't dare look back to actually see if it was there. Such a mistake could mean running into something, and then it would all be over for her.

They had just reached another turn where a soft blue light illuminated a turn when Harry came to a stop. A look of horror crossed his face and he tried to back away from the turn. It was too late. There was a flash of metal in the light and the great blade slammed into Harry's chest, easily slicing through and sticking into the wall behind Harry with a dull thud. She recognized the giant blade in a heartbeat. It was the one she'd seen the pyramid headed monster wielding the last time. She wasn't even thinking of the tiger now, just watching as Harry gasped for breath while his blood seeped from the wound, pooling on the ground below him.

A figure moved from around the corner, but it wasn't what Tex had expected. It wasn't the same pyramid head that she remembered. Instead, it was only as tall as an average human, not the same monstrous height she had seen before. It's helmet wasn't' the same either. The front end still came to a single point but in the back it angled up splitting off in two directions into two spikes that pointed toward the ceiling. It wore a pair of torn and bloody pants that looked to be military fatigues. There was smoothing off about it all, the rusty metal in the blue light. She then realized it wasn't the light. The metal was a worn blue. The figures upper body was riddled with scars that Tex could only guess the origins of. It moved forward and grabbed Harry by the throat, forcing him to look at it. The strange pyramid head's hand struck out so fast that Tex nearly missed it. Its hand pierced through Harry's chest and seemed to dig around inside of the man's chest. Harry screamed as it felt around, finding what it was looking for. With one great yank it tore the man's spine out through his chest and the screaming stopped.

Tex didn't wait around. She turned and ran the way she'd come. She skidded to a halt when she came face to face with the tiger once more, though it only stood in the middle of the passage. Tex held her breath, not sure what she should do. The tiger moved forward, though Tex realized that as it moved it was staying toward the right side of the hallway. Tex moved to the opposite side, pressing her back against the left wall. The tiger calmly walked past her, growling a bit but not making any hostile move. Once it was past her it completely turned its attention from her and let out a soft call, like a mother calling to her young.

Tex took off at a run down the hallway. She wasn't going to stick around knowing the things might come after her. She took every turn that she came across and eventually was forced to stop as she reached a large open room. She looked around at the eight passages that covered the walls around her. She had no idea which one to take, but there was something that interested her. In the center stood a series of seven pedestals. On each of the stone surfaces sat an item. On the first sat a small vile of red liquid that looked to be nothing more than colored water. On the second was an old video tape. It was odd to see that a VHS still existed at all. On the third sat a locket. Tex moved away from the fourth as she realized that the item was an old dried up umbilical cord. On the fifth sat an old family ring on a silver chain.

Tex stared down at what was on the sixth pedestal. It was a simple picture of her and Alessa when she'd first brought her daughter home from Silent Hill. She picked it up, looking at the old photo. She couldn't remember it actually being taken, but that had been years ago. She put the picture back and looked to the final surface. It was vacant of anything, just a dusty flat stone. She looked around and started to examine the passages around her. Each one had a marking over the top of it. She couldn't really understand what they meant, and then she realized that she recognized them.

She grabbed Church's journal out of her jacket pocket and looked for where she'd tucked the symbols away. She didn't find them, but she did find some text scrawled on one of the pages.

_Dear deaf fool, _

_No one ever listens to me. I tell people things, exactly what to do, and they can't do it or they just ignore me. Why do they do that? I knew It had plans, I knew. I didn't know what It was planning, but I knew It was planning. I didn't know He had plans. Didn't even know He could have plans. I should have known that he wouldn't listen to me. I should have known She wouldn't either. I do now know what it is that They want. I realized with this place you often get too distracted by the obvious and miss the more abstract meaning. Yes, that might be a skinned dog, but what about the dog his father killed when he was young to keep him from getting attached, from knowing that joy? I missed the abstract, too focused on what seemed obvious. Now, now that I know the truth, it seems like it should have been the obvious from the start. How easily we can think we know how things are, just to have it shown to us that everything we know is wrong. I will stop them, I must stop them. I will not let this happen. _

_With eyes finally open, _

_No one's puppet. _

Tex stared at the entry a few times and didn't understand what it was that Church was rambling about. Who were They? Who was the he that Church spoke of? Was she the 'she' that he mentioned? She'd have to find him if she wanted it answered, though she didn't really know where he'd gone, or if she could find him. Tex finally noticed that at the bottom of the entry there was a simple symbol, not like the others she'd seen. It was a circle, and in the circle was what appeared to be a line that was mirrored in the opposite direction at the bottom. The line started on the left, arching down toward the center and then back up. It made half an oval pointing to the left and then arched once more to the left, moving to connect with the right part of the circle. On the bottom was the same line, flipped upside down, and pointing to the right. In the middle was a simple wavy line that went from one side to the other. The top quarter was marked in black and the third section down was also marked in black. She stared at it and then looked up at the door ways ahead of her. She spotted one with the symbol above it and decided that if Church had drawn the symbol, it was one she would trust. She moved to the doorway and started to head into the darkness. Hopefully she hadn't misinterpreted Church's reason for putting it down there.


	14. Chapter 13

Redemption Chapter 13

Alessa couldn't help the chill that ran up her spine as they walked down the street. Something was so wrong, and it wasn't what was usually wrong. It wasn't the foggy roads, the broken down cars, the dirty store fronts all around them. It was none of those things. Instead it was the man that walked ahead of her. He hadn't said a word since they had left the graveyard. He seemed to be watching the street and looking around for anything that might attack, but from time to time he would shake his head or rub at his temple.

She finally got tired of it and reached out to him, her hand gently touching his arm, fingers only brushing the fabric. Alex turned around suddenly and for just a moment there was an odd look on his face. It suddenly turned to surprise. "Is something wrong?" He looked around and then back to his wife. Her hand carefully moved away from his arm and she just stared at him, examining the man. "Is there something on my face or something?"

Alessa sighed and shook her head. "No, that's not it." She didn't want to bring it up again, bring up his odd way of acting. She decided to lie. "Are you sure that we're going the right way?"

Alex nodded and opened up the map. He showed her where they were. See, here is the doctor's office, and this way will take us toward where we have to go." He pointed to the map, showing her they were going the right way. "I know what I'm doing, Alessa. Don't you trust me to lead the way?"

Alessa pulled the map from her hand and then looked at the map again. "No, we're going the completely wrong way." She turned the map and located another store. "See, there's the auto shop. You have the map the wrong way." She looked the other way. "We need to be going down that road." She pointed to their right.

Alex looked in the direction that she was pointing and slowly shook his head. "No, that's the wrong way." His gaze became a bit unfocused. "That's the way we shouldn't go. That's…" He reached up and put his hand against his forehead as though his head hurt. "Do you hear something humming?"

Alessa frowned. "I don't hear anything humming, Alex." She closed her eyes; trying to focus to see if she could hear anything but there was no sound that was out of the ordinary. She looked back to her husband and then to the map. "Are you sure this is the right way?"

Alex rubbed a bit more at his temple and he groaned in pain. "We…we need to move." He groaned again, looking around. She had no idea what it was that he was looking for. They still didn't even know if they were going the right way, but there was urgency in his demand that she didn't feel was because he was in pain. Alessa froze as she heard the faint sound of wheezing somewhere in the distance. Alex grabbed her arm, trying to pull her down the street, though he wasn't really moving. His eyes were shut tight and there was an obvious look of pain on his face.

Alessa caught sight of the smoker stumbling toward them, about thirty feet back the way they'd come. Its lungs glowed under its burnt ribs and it only became clearer and the wheezing got louder as the monster got closer. She took a step back away from it and she gripped her pipe tighter. Alex fell to his knees and Alessa looked to him. Alex released her arm and he let out a cry of pain, though Alessa couldn't see any force that would cause him any harm. "Make it stop!" He gripped his head tightly and gritted his teeth against the pain. He didn't even seem to be aware of the monster slowly moving toward them.

For a moment Alessa didn't know what to do, panick causing her mind to stumble a bit in making a decision. Alex couldn't run now, he didn't even seem able to stand. She turned toward the monster and moved to stand between it and Alex. She waited until it was a bit close and she took a step forward, lifting her pipe and swinging. It hit the smoker in the side of the head and it stumbled but stayed on its feet. She swung again, but once more the pipe seemed to only deflect off the burnt body of the smoker and only slightly push the thing, not harming it. The monster's ribs spread and it pulled its head back, preparing to attack. Alessa took a step back, trying to get some distance between the monster and herself before it could attack. She closed her eyes, preparing for the acid to hit and trying to keep her vision from being blurred. It never came.

Alessa opened her eyes to see Alex standing between her and the thing. She didn't known when he'd gotten up off the ground, hadn't heard or felt him move. He was just standing there between her and the monster, watching her. She looked into his eyes and could see that he wasn't her husband. There was a look in his eyes that conveyed that seemed to convey memories of things her husband hadn't experienced. She could see the sorrow in his gaze, the same look in his eyes when he woke up from the nightmare. There was a distant look in his eyes, slight confusion like he didn't recognize her face. His eyes squinted and his brow furrowed, like a person trying very hard to place a face. His eyes widened bit, a look or realization as he realized who she was.

Alex turned around and faced the monster. Alessa could only watch as the monster arched back and spread its ribs. Alex pulled back his machete and swung. His blade cut into one of the glowing lungs and the burning liquid inside spilled out. Alex pulled his hand back as the liquid fell over his hand and wrist, burning his skin. The monster stumbled and Alex stabbed forward, the blade slipping under the ribs and hitting the second lung. He pulled his hand back quickly and the second lung leaked fluid.

Alessa grabbed his arm and pulled the injured hand toward her. "Why did you do that? You're hurting my husband." She looked at the burns and wasn't sure if there was anything she could do in order to stop the pain. She didn't know much about burns and they didn't really have any supplies to treat his hands.

Alex stared at her for a moment and then looked down the street. "There are ferals coming. You need to get moving." He pulled his hand from hers and turned to face down the street. She could hear the growls and spotted two the skinned dogs running toward them. "Go, now!"

"I'm not leaving my husband. I want you out of him and I want you to give him back." Alessa grabbed his arm but he pulled it out of her hands. "I want my Alex back."

"I am Alex." The ferals closed in and Alex moved to counter them. The first feral moved out of the way of the strike and the second jumped forward, biting Alex in the upper arm. He cried out in pain and flailed, flinging the feral from him. Blood dripped down his wound and Alex cursed as the two ferals turned to attack him.

Alessa saw the wound and decided she wouldn't sit back and just let this other Alex destroy the body of her husband. She moved toward the closest feral and swung her pipe. It smacked the feral in the side of the head causing it roll to the side, stopping a few feet away. The feral moved to its feet and turned to Alessa. Alex swung and his machete cut into the creature's neck. He swung again and again until he'd cut the feral's head clean off. He was catching his breath from the exertion when the second feral landed on his back. Claws scratching through his shirt and he fell onto the feral he'd just killed. The one on his back growled as it struck forward, sinking its teeth into Alex's shoulder.

"Off!" Alessa swung and her pipe hit the feral in the shoulder. It released its grip on Alex and turned its attention to her. The monster jumped and Alessa used the pipe to deflect the strike but the force sent the pipe flying from her hands. It bounced on the street and skidded to a stop almost twenty feet away. She cursed and looked back to the feral as it prepared to attack again.

It jumped and there was suddenly a machete sliced through the air and the blade cut the side of the feral's face. The creature whimpered and fell to the ground. As soon as it hit the ground and Alex was on it. He slashed with the blade until the feral stopped moving. He took a step back and looked around, his hand moving to his temple. "Damn it." He turned to look at Alessa. "You have to get to the house." He groaned and pointed down the street in the direction they'd been going.

Alessa moved to grab her pipe and then looked back to Alex. She moved to his side and he swayed a bit. "What's wrong?" Alex didn't reply, just fell to one knee and groaned. "Tell me what is wrong."

Alex suddenly started to scream. He looked down at his burned hand and injured arm. "What happened to me?" He looked back to Alessa and she could see that he was her Alex. There was fear, pain, and confusion in his eyes but not like what she'd seen before.

Alessa wasn't sure what to tell him. How was she supposed to tell him that for a while some other person named Alex had taken his place in his body and gotten him all injured. She decided to just ignore that question. Alessa hesitated, not sure if it would hurt more if she touched him. "We need to get moving." She held out her hand so that she could help him up. Alex took it though she could feel his hand grip hers tightly in pain. She pulled him to his feet and he leaned on her as he found it hard to stay on them. She started to move down the street, Alex leaning on her for support with each steps, heading in the direction they'd been going and the other Alex had pointed.

"What happened? I have to know, Alessa." Alex moved so that one of his arms was around her shoulder, allowing him to stay up on his feet easier.

Alessa hesitated before she answered. "You weren't yourself and we were attacked. You got this headache and when it went away you…you were a different Alex. Anyway, you fought off some monsters and whoever the other Alex is, he didn't have any fear of injury. He told us to go this way."

"And you're doing what he told you to do?" Alex frowned, stopping and forcing her to stop. "Why are you following what some guy that possessed me told you to do? It could be a demon."

Alessa looked at him. "But, this was the same way that we were going, and he did protect me. I mean, he knew who I was, but he just wasn't you. That doesn't mean that he was a demon. He didn't attack me or anything, only helped."

"You do realize that it could all just be a trap. He didn't attack you so he could get your trust and then lead you into a trap?" Alex shook his head. "You aren't that stupid, Alessa, I know it."

Alessa paused, not sure how to explain it. "I just trust him. I mean he wasn't you, but the man I saw behind your eyes, he wasn't a threat. Besides, you were already leading us that way anyway." Alessa started to walk again and forced Alex to walk with her. "We're going this way, and you are coming with me, you don't really get a say in it. The other guy said that we had to get to the house and we need shelter. I need to patch up your wounds and if we can get to a house then we can have some shelter, maybe find some medical supplies, take care of you. Right now, you're injured and can't fight and I can't fight if I'm keeping you standing. We are finding shelter and that's final."

Alex didn't seem to be really listening. His eyes were closed tightly and his hand was once more pressed against his temple. Alessa glanced over their shoulder and saw something lumbering toward them down the road. Alex groaned and Alessa started to pull him down the road a bit faster. Alex started to walk with her as they made distance away from the thing. As they put space between themselves and the thing Alex seemed to relax a bit and his hand fell from his temple.

"How's your head?" She glanced back and saw that whatever it was wasn't following them anymore. She gripped the pipe tighter as they moved down the street, knowing that at any moment they could stumble across something in this fog. She looked around and finally spotted a line of houses just barely visible through the white mist that always hung around the streets of Silent Hill. "I think that we're almost there." She focused fully on figuring out which of the houses that she should be looking for. The other Alex hadn't really given her a description or much to work with other than the fact it was a house. She stopped outside of one particular house, unsure if it was the right one but it was likely her best option at the moment. The door was smashed in and it was open enough that she thought she could force her way in.

Alessa carried Alex up onto the deck, checking over her shoulder for anything that might follow them. She leaned him against the side of the house and pushed against the door. It barely moved with her weight against it so she shifted into a more firm stance she put a bit more force behind her push. Alex groaned and she looked over to him, a bit startled by the sound. His hand was once more against his forehead and she looked down the road. She could see something moving toward them though the figure was hard to identify, only indicating it was anything alive because it swayed and was getting a bit bigger. "Wow, you're like a monster radar." She took a few steps back and threw herself against the door. There was a crack of wood and the door gave way causing Alessa to fall to the floor inside home's entry way. She quickly got to her feet and moved outside, grabbing Alex and helping him into the house. Alex sat on the floor of the entry way and Alessa shut the door as best she could behind them. She then moved back to her husband. Alessa pulled him up and helped him into the living room, moving him so he could sit down on the couch. He chose to lay down and she let him be, leaving his side in an effort to trying to find a med kit that she could use.

Alessa hurried into the kitchen and went through the cabinets until she found a small case of supplies. There were some bandages, a bit of rubbing alcohol, and some Band-Aids, likely a kit only used for small injuries, but it would have to do. Alessa returned to the living room, surprised to see Alex up and standing by the window. "Alex?" The man looked back at her and Alessa could see it wasn't her husband but the other Alex from before. "What's going on?"

Alex turned his attention back outside. "The monsters are at the gate." Alessa moved over to his side and looked out. There was something standing outside of the front gate to the yard like the formerly white picket fence was a steel wall it couldn't pass. "Can I ask you something?"Alessa asked. Alex looked over to her and nodded. "Why do you keep taking my husband's place? Why do you keep taking him from me?"

Alex's gaze lowered a bit. "If he knew why it was that I am here then he would have no problem with going away for a little while." He raised his hands so that she could see the burns. "He would have no problem with these injuries."

Before Alex could pull the hand away Alessa grabbed it. She glanced toward the medical kit and then back to him. Alex sighed and nodded, agreeing to comply. She grabbed the rubbing alcohol, carefully putting s dabbing a bit on the bandages and started to wrap his hands. She lead him over to the couch and forced him to sit down though he continued to glance over at the window nervously. She finished bandaging his hands and then pulled at his shirt, indicating for him to take it off.

"I do not feel comfortable with that." Alex glanced toward the window, shifting uncomfortably and flexing his bandaged hands as best he could now that they were wrapped up. He was more occupied with the monster that was looming at the gate but not crossing into the yard.

"Seriously?" Alessa rolled her eyes. Figures that this Alex would be uncomfortable with his body. "You're in the body of my husband and we have a kid, now take off your shirt." Alex let out a frustrated breath and reluctantly removed the torn shirt, setting it to the side. Alessa got to work patching up his shoulder and back though her supplies were limited and she didn't really know how to properly do it. Then again, she wasn't a doctor and this was the best she could do. "So, will you give me my husband back?"

"I didn't take him." Alex leaned forward so that his forearms were resting on his knees. "He's still here, but I have a duty, and that comes first." Alex looked over his shoulder at her, scowling in annoyance. "I can still feel him under the surface. He knows you are close, but he is allowing me to be in control, even if he doesn't realize or remember it."

Alessa put a hand on Alex's shoulder and she guided him to turn around to face her. She put a gentle hand on his face, keep him from looking away. "Please, can I have my husband back?"

Alex stared at her and Alessa could see a hint of her husband in his eyes. There was love there, a pain at seeing her sad. He leaned toward her and Alessa felt his breath on her neck and his cheek settled on her shoulder. Alessa put her hands on his back and held him in place as his body went slack against her.

Alex moved again and slowly sat up. He looked at Alessa and he was fully back to his old self, a slightly confused look on his face. He looked down at his chest and then up to Alessa. "Isn't this a bit of an odd place to be making a move?" Alessa wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him to her. Alex sat in confusion, just hugging her back, not knowing what else to do.

There was a loud bang against the door and the two released each other. They looked to the door and Alex stood up, grabbing the pipe that Alessa had put to the side. He moved toward the door, ready for what might be on the other side of the door.


	15. Chapter 14

Silent Gulch Redemption Chapter 14

Grif's heart was still pounding as he crouched in the small nook. From what he could tell the minotaur was gone, and he hopefully didn't have to worry about there being more of them around. He slowly moved out of the nook and into the hallway. Grif looked both ways but saw nothing. He knew that the creature had gone to the left, so he turned to the right and started to walk.

He had no idea where Simmons was, but finding his husband would have to be the first thing he did. He knew that Simmons could take care of himself, but he also knew that the man was a bit of a coward. He would rather run from a fight, unless there was someone that he cared about that would be attacked in his stead. It was what Simmons had did the first time they'd gone to Silent Hill in the dinner. It was what had given Grif good purchase to get Simmons to admit that he cared.

It was a while before anything changed about the hallways. For many minutes it was nothing but stone all around him, until it suddenly turned to metal. Grif stopped when he reached the metal, looking around. It all looked like it was solid steel, though he wasn't so sure. He continued down the hallway and stopped as he reached an area that was closed off by a simple series of iron bars. On the other side of the bars hung five bodies. Each of them was weighed down by a golden ball and chain that was just short enough that they hung loosely above the ground. Grif could see that some of the bodies had dislocated joints, and a few were decayed enough that the weight was causing the dead skin to tear.

Grif just stared at the bodies for a few minutes. He couldn't really understand the point of having hung weights from people. He supposed for torture, but this place had much worse ideas of torture than just hanging a weight from you and letting you dangle. He supposed it didn't matter all that much to him, as long as in the end he didn't end up like those bodies.

He was just about to continue to move when one of the bodies moved. Grif watched them, trying to figure out which one it was that had moved. There was a slight squeak and Grif looked around, trying to find the source. Something large and heavy landed on his back and Grif hit the ground hard. Sharp claws dug into Grif's back and he looked over his shoulder at the creature that had attacked him. Its arms were long and thin while its body was bulky. Its mouth opened revealing long sharp teeth. The creature let out a high pitched sound that reminded Grif of a bat. At the idea that it might be even slightly bat-like Grif panicked.

The creature screeched at him and Gif could only flail under it. The creature was too heavy for him to shake off and it didn't seem like it was going anywhere soon. Something tackled the creature from him and Grif scrambled to his feet. His back hurt where the claws had dug in, but he was more interested in what had helped him. He realized that the bat-like creature had been attacked by what appeared to be a smaller version of the half robotic dog that he'd seen years ago. The mechanical canine scratched and bit at the other creature until it stopped moving. Grif stood, watching the dog carefully.

The monster' canine's head turned toward Grif and he saw one glowing red eye staring at him. The canine's muzzle was dripping with blood from its kill. Grif took a step back as it took a step toward him, sharp metal claws of its right leg and paw scratching over the ground. Its fur was matted and tinted a dark shade of maroon. It growled as it took another step closer. Grif put up his hands, as though that alone could stop the canine. "Oh come on, do I really look like a threat?"

The canine continued to move forward so Grif did the only thing he thought logical. He turned and ran. He could hear the metal and flesh paws of the dog as it ran after him. Sure, it would just happen to be that he would get stuck being chased by a cyborg pooch. He made every turn he could find, hoping that it would throw the dog off his trail, but every time the sound continued to follow him.

Grif reached a door and he opened it, slamming it shut behind him. He put his full weight against it and he felt the dog run into it. He could hear the metal claw scratching at the door. Grif stayed in place until the scratching stopped. He wasn't sure if it had left or not, but he chanced moving away from the door to push a dresser in the way. He heard something hit against the door again and he was glad that he had put something in the way to hold the door closed.

Grif took the time to examine the room around him. The walls were covered in wallpaper that was peeling away. To one side was a desk and on the other a set of bunk beds. Other than that there wasn't much else to the room. Grif moved over to the bunk beds and looked at them. He didn't know why there was a bedroom here, but apparently there was. He didn't really find anything on the beds other than an old photo under one of the pillows. He stared at the image of the little toy soldier being attacked by a spider. It was creepy, and he tossed it to the side.

Grif then moved over to the desk that was sitting to one side. Grif flipped through the lose papers on the desktop. There were a few notes to some woman named Elle. Grif ignored all of that and started to look through the drawers. He found a key in one of them and a couple pictures. Grif sat down in the chair and stared at the picture. The first was of what looked to be a teenage Alex and some girl with blond hair that Grif didn't recognize. The second was a picture of a younger Alex with a smaller child beside him. The other child had black hair and seemed to be celebrating a birthday. Alex seemed to be smiling but there was something off about the way he smiled, like he didn't really mean it.

Grif set the pictures down on the desk and continued to search through the drawers. He finally found one that was locked. Grif tried the key that he'd found in the other drawer and it worked. He rummaged through the final drawer. There were a few cruddy pictures drawn by some kid, but at the bottom of it all was a book. Grif pulled it out and set it down on the desktop. He started to flip through it and stopped as he realized that the writing was all done in handwriting that looked childish. Grif flipped back to the first page that he could find with writing that was legible.

_Dear Journal, _

_I can't ever let my dad find out about you. If he did then he'd take you away just like he takes everything else I like away. I wanted a journal for my last birthday, but my dad said no. Instead I ended up with some crappy book. I don't know what the Red Badge of Courage is, but I don't know if I want to read it. I think dad wants me to read it, so I'll try. Maybe I can just put a book mark in it and move it along every once in a while to make it look like I'm reading it. Anyway, I had to get this journal by giving up my favorite couple of army men. I think it was worth it. _

_Alex Shepherd_

Grif stared at the page, reading the name over and over. It was the name that Alex had when he and Simmons had adopted their son. He read over the passage again and couldn't believe it. Why would any father not be willing to get his son something so simple for his birthday? How was a book any better? Grif flipped through a few entries until he found another.

_Dear Journal,_

_I think dad loves his dog more than me. He yelled at me for trying to go into his hunting room, but he'll let the dog in there all the time. I know he loves that dog, but I don't know if he loves me. He's been training me to fight, but he's never said one encouraging word the entire time. He only ever points out what I've done wrong, never what I did right. He says I need to be strong to protect Joshua, but I don't know what Joshua needs to be protected from. The people here like him, and not many outsiders come into town. Why, then, do I have to train instead of go and play with the other kids. I wanted to go swimming in the lake with Elle and her friends today, but dad said I couldn't because he had a training exercise planned. I could have been swimming with friends, instead my shoulder hurts and I think I'm going to have a bruise on my thigh tomorrow. _

_Alex Shepherd_

Grif stared at that entry. He didn't like what he was reading at all. This seemed to be his soon writing from the name, but this wasn't at all how he'd treated Alex. They'd never even had a dog. He looked at the page, not wanting to read more. He didn't like thinking that anyone would have treated his son like this. Still, he flipped further back in the journal and read another entry.

_Dear Journal, _

_Elle agree to go steady with me. I know that dad doesn't approve of her, though I don't see why. I don't think I care what he thinks about her. I really like her and she really likes me back. I don't think I've ever liked a girl that he's approved of, but I've never felt about a girl the way I feel about Elle. Besides, I haven't told anyone yet, but when I graduate I plan on enlisting in the army. That should make dad happy. Maybe then he won't care who it is that I'm dating. I'm starting to think that the army is the only way that he'll ever approve of anything I do. I got all As on my last report card, and he didn't even seem to care. I don't understand. If Joshua were to have come home with a report card like mine they would have been excited, told him how great he was, but for me there's nothing. Mom told me it was nice, but didn't do much more than that. I don't feel at home in my own house, I'm not sure if I ever did. I do feel at home when I'm with Elle. She accepts me for who I am, and she was happier than any member of my family for my grades._

_A. Shepherd_

Grif moved to flip into the later pages, but quickly moved away when he did. The rest of the book was filled with rough sketches of monsters. He recognized one of them and looked down at his hands. There were still scars on the back of his hands from the burns that he'd received from one. Grif flipped through the sketches carefully until on the last page he found a detailed sketch of a pyramid head. Grif grabbed the journal and tucked it away. There was more to read in it, since he had passed up several pages before he'd reached the sketches. He hoped that he'd get time to read them, maybe find out that something good had happened in the end. He doubted it. He didn't want to believe it, but something told him that the Alex Shepherd who'd written the journal wasn't all that different from the one that he'd let into his home and loved as his son.

Grif decided that he didn't want to just sit around in the room for a long time so he figured he would have to find something to be able to defend himself. He started to search through the room for anything he could use to protect himself. He couldn't find anything in the room that would really be useful to fight off anything, let along stop the metallic jaw of the cyborg dog that had been outside.

Realizing that it might be better to just sit around for a while Grif moved over to the bunk beds and climbed up to the top one. A dirty joke about always being on top came to mind as he lay down. He realized that there was no one around to hear it so he kept it to himself. He wasn't sure how he would tell passage of time, but he figured he'd do what he did best. He'd take a nap. Grif rolled over and tried to make himself as comfortable as he could be.

He wasn't sure if he'd actually gotten any sleep or not. For all he knew he'd just closed his eyes. The clock that hung on the wall was no help. It was stuck at 2:06 and hadn't moved at all. Grif had only woken up because he'd heard something clawing franticly and whimpering outside of the door. He sat up on the bed and looked down at the door. Grif hopped down from the bunk bed and moved over to the dresser. On the top of it sat an axe. It hadn't been there before, he was sure of that.

Grif carefully picked up the weapon and gripped it tightly. He was sure that he could swing it with enough accuracy to do some damage to anything that attacked. Grif set his weight against the dresser and forced it out of the way. He opened the door, prepared to attack whatever might have been causing the scratching, but he didn't find a dog outside.

On the ground sat a pink freakish bunny that looked like that creepy toy you buy your child and then regret it since it makes your skin crawl when you look at it. It was splattered with blood on the top and a fresh drop fell, impacting on the stuffed rabbit's head. Grif turned his attention to the source of the blood. Strung from the ceiling by rope was the upper torso of a woman. Blood dripped from her stomach where it seemed like the bottom half had been torn away. Her brown hair hung about her face, the gray shirt she wore coated with blood. Grif stared up at what appeared to be a pullet wound in her head. Maybe she hadn't died by being pulled apart. He preferred to think that someone showed mercy, that they killed her before such an awful thing could be done.

Grif moved to one side of the hallway, moving past the body without touching it. He stopped on the other side and for a moment wondered who it was. That wondering when away when he looked down and sat that the head of the stuffed rabbit had turned to still be looking at him. A chill ran up Grif's spine and he turned and ran down the hallway, wanting as much distance as he could get.


	16. Chapter 15

Redemption Chapter 15

Simmons leaned back against the fountain, staring at the child before him. They were both confused and Simmons could tell that the child was a bit scared. Simmons tried to understand what was going on. Here before him was standing the childhood version of his son, and the boy had no idea who he was. Simmons tried to think of how to get things started, how to talk to him, but he didn't know where to start.

Alex didn't have that same problem. "Who are you? Are you a friend of my family?" There was something in the way that he said the word 'family' that was wrong. Simmons couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew something had been off about it.

Simmons wasn't sure how to answer that. He started with the question that he could answer. "My name is Simmons. You're Alex Shepherd, correct?" The boy nodded. "Can I ask who your family is?"

Alex hesitated before he spoke. "My dad is the sheriff. I've got a mom, and my younger brother, Joshua." Alex's voice was oddly cold for someone talking about their family. "Do you have any family?"

Simmons decided that he should tread lightly, as this Alex didn't know who he was, or anything about him. "Well, I have my husband, Grif. He can be lazy but deep down he's a good guy. Then there's my son, Alex. We adopted him but we love him very much."

"Hey, your son and I have the same name." Alex grinned happily as he moved to sit beside Simmons. "How can you have a husband if you're a guy?"

Simmons wasn't really sure how comfortable he was talking about his relationship with Grif, but he supposed he could try to put it in words that the kid could understand. "Well it's not all that different from how your mother has a husband. I love mine so we got married." Simmons remembered listening to Grif give their son a talk about how their relationship wasn't exactly normal but it was perfectly natural after Alex had come home from having been teased. Hundreds of years have passed and still there were people who were homophobic.

Alex nodded, seeming to understand. "I guess if you love someone you should marry them. I don't think I'm ever going to get married."

Simmons chuckled, a memory of Alex standing before a official as Alessa walked up the row of chairs flashed in his mind. "I don't know about that. I'm sure one day you'll meet a girl and fall in love with her." Alex stared at the ground in front of him. He seemed to be sulking. "Want to tell me what's going on in your head?"

Alex hesitated and then finally asked a question. "How do you know if someone loves you? You seem to love your son and husband, but how do they know it?"

Simmons was a bit shocked by the question. It wasn't at all what he had expected. "Well, I show my husband that I love him by admitting when he's right in an argument. We argue a lot so the best way I can show that I love him is by admitting when I'm wrong. I also do things like kiss him, hug him, and some other physical gestures. For my son I tell him all the time that I love him, particularly when he was a kid. I tell him when I'm proud of him so that he knows that I approve of everything he's done. Even when he does something I don't approve of I still make sure that he knows it doesn't change that I love him. I hug him, tell him I'll miss him when he leaves. I'm happy when he gets home." Simmons turned his gaze to the wall across from him. "Right now I'm separated from the both of them, but I know that when I see them again I'll hug them and tell them that I missed them, because I have."

Alex was listening with rapt attention. "That sounds really nice. I bet they are happy to know that you love them."

Simmons nodded. "It usually does make them happy, though sometimes my son gets a bit embarrassed. See, he's all grown up now. Has his own wife, a home, and a daughter, Alana."

Alex jumped up when Simmons said his granddaughter's name. "I know her. Big me said that he was going to go find her because…"The boy paused as he tried to remember the rest of it. "I can't remember who, but someone told him that they had to save her. I don't know from what but I know they had to save her. They said she was at the old church."

Simmons looked at him, surprised. "You mean that's where my granddaughter is? Wait, which church is the only church. Aren't there like several in town?"

"I mean the one that's on the lake. Big me said that it was where he had to go." Alex grabbed Simmons' arm and tugged at him. "I can show you the way."

Simmons moved so that he was kneeling beside the boy. "I would love it if you could show me the way. I'm very worried about Alana, and the reason I'm here is to save her." Simmons smiled at the child. "You know you really remind me of my son at your age." He then stood up and held out his hands.

Alex looked at it hesitantly and then carefully reached out, taking Simmons' hand. He started to move and Simmons followed after him. "I know where everything is in this town, I even know the fastest way to get places, since the monsters are around and we don't want to run into them."

Simmons stopped for a moment and looked around. "You are right, the monsters are around. I think we'll need a way of protecting ourselves. He moved away from Alex and he noticed that the boy squeezed his hand lightly before letting it go, as though afraid to lose the friendly hand. Simmons moved over to a sprinkler system and kicked it a few times. A pipe finally broke loose and Simmons tugged it free. He held it in one hand and then moved over to Alex, holding out his hand again.

This time Alex took the hand without hesitation. He gripped Simmons' hand tightly. "Have you ever fought with one of those before?" He motioned to the pipe.

"Well not one of these, but this isn't my first time here. I've been to Silent Hill and fought some of the things here before." Grif was sure that he'd be able to manage. After all he just had to treat the pipe like a bat and hit things with it. Though he was a bit worried about having to protect Alex. He only worried that the pipe wouldn't be enough for everything. At least maybe he could keep them at bay enough so that the kid could get away.

Alex looked at him, confused. "You've been here before?" The boy shook his head a bit. "It's not like it was before. Big me says that Innocent says that Ghost says that those people have messed it all up. He says that there are all sorts of monsters out there, ones that God doesn't make any more. He said something about them being confused, and well I didn't understand the rest of what he was talking about."

Simmons looked down at the child. "Well I'm sure whatever it is that attacks us we can handle it. You and I are going to be a fine team." Simmons was glad now that he'd chosen to be a father. When they'd first gotten Alex Simmons hadn't known how to act around kids, but now he had a better understanding of them and knew sort of how they liked to be treated. Simmons was fairly certain that this child was almost the same as Alex when they'd first gotten him. He would just have to treat this child just like he would treat his son.

Alex led him down a passage though Simmons really didn't know where he was taking him. "So, Alex, what more can you tell me about your family?"

Alex's hand tightened around Simmons. "I don't like to talk about them. I don't think they like me. I'd rather hear more about your family. Tell me about Alana."

"Now wait a moment, why don't you think that your family likes you?" Simmons didn't understand how a family couldn't like Alex. He knew Alex and the idea that anyone couldn't love the man was ridicules to Simmons.

"Well they don't love me. All the things you say that you do to show your son you love him, my family's never done. I don't think my father's ever been proud of me, and I can't remember my mother ever hugging me." Alex scowled. "Who needs them anyway? Why should I love them if they don't love me?" Alex was surprised as Simmons suddenly stopped.

"Your mother never hugged you? Has no one ever hugged you?" Simmons couldn't believe that. He really didn't understand this kid's parents.

"Well, some of the others here have. Big me has hugged me. Ghost has hugged me. So has Innocent, but none of them are really technically family."

"Just because you weren't born into a family doesn't make it not your family. My son was adopted, meaning that he isn't a blood relative of mine. Still, he is my family, and I love him as one." Simmons knelt down beside the boy. "In fact, none of my family is blood family. All of them are just people that I know who I'm really close with."

Alex seemed to think about all of this for a moment. "So then you're saying that even though I'm not related to them, Big me, Ghost, and Innocent are all my family. So like Ghost is my father, Innocent is my sister, and Big me is my big brother?"

Simmons nodded. "Basically, that is the idea. They are family if you want them to be family. Besides, this other family of yours doesn't sound so great."

Alex smiled up at Simmons. "Do you want to be a part of my family? You're really nice and I bet that Ghost wouldn't mind me having another dad."

Simmons thought about that. "I don't see why not. Oh, and having two dads isn't a bad thing. My other son has two dads and he turned out great. At least he did if you ask his wife or daughter. Some people think he's a bit weird." Simmons stood up and motioned down the hallway. "We should probably keep moving. I don't want anything getting our sent and tracking us to this location."

Alex nodded and once more started to lead Simmons down the hallway. The boy came to a dead stop as a sound echoed through the hallway. The sound of air raid sirens. Simmons pulled Alex a bit closer to him, gripping the pipe tightly. He looked down as he realized that Alex was saying something. It sounded like he was half singing half reciting a poem as he looked around them.

_When you hear those sirens call  
>Then soon the darkness will fall<br>When it does it's best to run  
>If you ever hope to see the sun<br>IN the shadow lurking there  
>Ready to strike at those that dare<br>Step food into this cursed land  
>Ruled by the wicked and damned<br>So heed my words and stay in the light  
>If you don't be ready for the coming fight<br>Many have tried but only seven succeed  
>IN the end all paid for their wicked deed<br>So strength of heard and iron will  
>May save you from Silent Hill<em>

The world around them descended into darkness and Simmons felt the small hand vanish from his own. Light filtered into the hallway again and the walls started to peel away. The solid stone around them flaked away like burnt crust on a pie and floated up toward the ceiling before disintegrating. It left behind rusted metal and grating.

Simmons looked around, trying to find any sign of the child. "Alex!" He couldn't find him anywhere. The child had just disappeared. Simmons took off at a run down the hallway hoping that the kid had just run away.

Simmons skidded to a halt when he reached a large circular room. He spotted Alex lying on the ground, a pack of ferals circling around him. "Hey, mutts!" The ferals all turned to Simmons. "Get away from my son." With that the maroon soldier ran forward, pipe at the ready.


	17. Chapter 16

Redemption Chapter 16

Alana didn't see the shore come into view, but did feel when the boat hit ground. She didn't know where she'd landed, but after some of the things she thought she might have seen out in the fog on the lake, she was glad to reach ground. She moved to the front of the boat and moved into the shallows. She looked around at where she had arrived and didn't recognize it.

From where she stood it looked like a building that had been built into the side of a mountain. There was a sort of path that led up to where metal extended out, leading to a large metal doorway. The part of the building reminded her of what she'd seen on the base back home. The entire building was made of metal and she could see a couple broken down turrets along the path. They'd likely been used as defense against the strange things that lived here.

Alana decided that standing on the shore wasn't going to do her much good, so she started to walk up the path. The dirt slid a bit under her feet and she'd only gotten a bit of the way up before she looked back at the shore. The fog had rolled in enough that she already couldn't see her boat. She continued up the slope, not liking how fast the fog was moving in. There was something so creepy about it. She had gotten to one of the broken turrets when she looked back again. There was something in the fog, something that moved in and out of sight. She didn't like it at all.

She didn't dare look back again until she'd reached the large metal doors. When she looked back again the turret was hard to see. She turned to the door and banged loudly. She couldn't see any control panel or anything that could be used to activate the door so it would open. She figured that knocking on it would be the best option. She could almost feel the fog closing in on her.

The door slid open and Alana quickly moved inside. The doors slid shut right behind her. She looked around the hallway but couldn't find anyone. She didn't know who had opened the system for her, but she was thankful. In here she felt safer from the fog, even if it might have all just been in her head. She started to move down the hallway. She grabbed the knife that she'd slipped into her belt and readied for anything to attack her.

She stopped when she reached a passage that went to the side. She wasn't sure if she should split from the main corridor. She wasn't sure until she spotted a small creature on the ground, licking its own paw. Alana jogged over to it and the feline stared up at her when she neared. It let out a quiet meow and Alana reached down, scratching it's ear. The cat stood up and arched its back, wanting more affection.

"Hey there, sweet kitty. You're a friend of my grandfather's, or my father." The cat meowed and Alana hoped that meant it understood. "Well I'm looking for him. Can you help me find him?"

The cat simply purred and then started to trot down the hallway. Alana decided that following the cat seemed like a good idea so she moved after it, being sure to move slow enough that she didn't pass the small animal. It made several turns and then stopped at a door.

Alana stopped outside the door and stared down at the ground. There was what looked like still wet blood on the ground, coming from under the door. She looked down to the feline. "Are you sure?" The cat meowed and she sighed. "Fine, if you're sure." Alana hit the controls and the door slid back.

Alana looked around the room. It was worse than she had expected. There were dead bodies about the room, though from the looks of it most of it was just limbs or inhuman. Some of it looked like it was animals, but she couldn't tell exactly what they had originally been. The smell of so much death and blood filled the air and Alana had to cover her nose and mouth to try to keep it out.

Alana turned his attention to the center of the room. All around it was blood and death, but in the very center of the room stood an elegant four post bed. Crimson curtains hung around the bed, hiding what was inside. While the area around the bed was a mess there wasn't a single spot of blood or dirt on the curtains of the bed. It stood, perfectly spotless in the center of a field of death.

The curtain moved to the side and Alana was surprised to see Alex stepping out. She completely ignored the bodies around her and moved over the floor. "Dad!" Alex didn't even look at her until she got close to him. She stopped when she realized there was a confused look on his face. "Dad?"

Alex looked around and then back to Alana. "Are you talking to me?" He looked Alana over and then fidgeted a bit. "Listen, I don't know who you are, but I'm not your dad. I don't have any kids."

Alana furrowed her brows. How did her father not know her? "Dad, it's me. Alana." She took a step toward him and realized that there was something wrong with him. He wore a military jacket, but her father had never served in the military. His face was dirty and his eyes didn't hold the sort of joy that she knew from when her father saw her. He really didn't know who she was. "But…I don't understand. You look just like my dad."

Alex looked toward the bed for a moment but his eyes were unfocused. "So then you're Alana." He turned back to her. "Guess you saved me some time, and a few more deaths." Alex moved, passing her and heading toward one of the bodies. Alana watched as he grabbed an axe that was stuck in one of the bodies. With one great tug Alex pulled it free of the body. He moved it so that it was resting on his shoulder.

"So then, you do know who I am?" Alana wasn't really sure what was going on, but she knew she'd never seen her father hold an axe, and certainly not like that. This man held the axe like it was something he used just about every day. He also seemed completely undisturbed by the death that surrounded them.

Alex shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I know that I'm supposed to have found you, which I guess I have. He told me to find you but I guess I don't have to do that anymore." Alex suddenly turned toward one of the doors and frowned. He then turned back to Alana. "Well, I've got to go. It would probably be best if you stayed here."

"I'm not just going to sit around and wait. What good does that do? I need to find my grandfather." Alana took a step toward him though she edged away from a body that she felt was a bit too close to her.

Alex sighed and shook his head. "He'll come, cause he always does. You just stay here." He glanced toward the bed. "Though I don't suggest going near that. Best not to get involved in such affairs. Just keep your nose clean, kid."

Alana watched as Alex moved toward one of the doors. She questioned if she should or shouldn't do as he told her to do. "Wait, does that mean you know my grandfather?"

Alex stopped and looked back at her. He seemed to think about the question for a couple seconds. "I guess you could say that I know him. If I see him, I'll tell him you're here, all right?"

Alana nodded satisfied. Alex turned and started to walk away again. She watched as he disappeared into the darkness. Once he was gone she looked around the room, trying to figure out what she could do with herself until her grandfather arrived. That is if he arrived.

Alana moved around the room, trying to at least find somewhere that she thought was suitable enough to sit on. She couldn't find anything that wasn't covered in blood or some sort of liquid that she didn't find suitable to sit down on. She instead turned her attention toward the bed in the center of the room. Sure, Alex had told her not to go near it but she didn't see why she shouldn't.

Alana took a few steps toward the bed, being careful. If there was something dangerous about something that was inside she didn't want to be caught without her guard up. She edge toward the curtain and started to push it to the side. She peered inside and was surprised at what she found.

A woman sat on the bright red sheets looking directly at Alana. Her long orange hair hung around her neck, draping over her shoulders. She wore a dress as red as the sheets under her. Her gaze seemed to pierce into Alana, into her very soul. Deep blue eyes studied her carefully. The woman blinked and Alana could swear that some sort of hold on her was released. The woman smiled and it was a warm and friendly smile. She patted the bed beside her. "Why don't you sit down?" Her voice was light and it sent goose-bumps up Alana's arm.

Alana hesitated for a moment before she cautiously sat down on the edge of the bed. She was cautious of the woman, but so far she had no reason to really feel threatened. The curtain fell into place behind her as she sat down and it cut them off from the death that surrounded them. Not being able to see the bodies somehow set Alana more at ease.

The woman tilted her head to the side and her hair shifted, shining in the lights that hung from the frame above them. "I can tell that you have questions. If you ask I can see if I can answer."

Alana thought about it for a moment and then decided on what question to ask first. "Why am I here? I mean, I don't have anything to do with this place. I've never been here before. Why me?"

The woman moved to sit more comfortably, leaning against the back board and the series of pillows at the top of the bed. "I can't explain why you are here. That would take days, maybe weeks to fully understand to a point where it wouldn't be babble to you. As for why you were chosen, it is because of your family." Confusion crossed Alana's face and the woman smiled wider. "Your family never told you of where your mother was from. Never told you that she was from Silent Hill." Alana shook her head. "Well she is. All those, and for several generations those descended of those from silent Hill are a part of it."

Alana sort of understood what she meant. At least she was pretty sure that she was correct in what the woman meant. "So, then where are we?"

"Oh, this is my sanctuary. Father thought it would be a good idea as I have needed my own space. I've been using it to make new things, and so I have somewhere to stay. Those old houses are just much too dreary, and he always said that using any of their places just felt wrong." The woman ran a hand over the sheets. "I think that it suits me just fine."

"What are those bodies out there? I mean, some of them seem human, but some of them. Well I just don't know what they are." Alana glanced toward the curtain, indicating the bodies around them.

"Those are my projects. I take the destroyed, broken, and dead and make it into something alive again." The woman frowned a bit. "It may not be pleasant to all, but I am a creator, not a destroyer. I am merciful, and I am forgiving."

Alana thought for a few seconds as she tried to think of more questions. "Do you know my grandfather? Do you know where I can find him?"

The woman smirked and folded her hands on her lap. "Your grandfather, Leonard Church, is busy. It is best if he stays away from you at this time, though it is likely when Alex tells him you are here that he will not stay away."

"So then I should just sit here and wait for him?" Alana still didn't like that idea. She didn't like just sitting around. There was no guarantee that her grandfather would actually show up.

"He will come, if you are looking to find him. If you leave, then it is unlikely that you find him at all and instead you once more fall into the hands of those fools." The woman shook her head. "No child, you must stay here with me. It is for the better."

Alana frowned at that. "I don't want to just be sitting around. I want to be doing something. I also need to find the man that killed my father. He took someone special from me. I want to make him pay for that."

The woman's gaze became unreadable for a little while. "You remind me of someone else." The woman closed her eyes and slid down a bit in the bed. "Death is only an illusion. Those who are dead can come back to haunt us." Alana looked at her, expecting more of an explanation but the woman didn't say anything else.

"Well, I watched them plunge a dagger into my father's heart, after they tortured him. I can't just let that go, and I don't believe that people come back to us." Alana's head fell a bit, staring down at the sheets of the bed.

The woman laughed and Alana's gaze snapped to her. "I think that is what people call a humorous thing to say, seeing as you are looking for a man who haunts this place. You seek the dead but believe they cannot come back."

Alana furrowed her brow, trying to understand. "I don't understand. I'm not looking for my father, I'm looking for my grandfather."

The woman shook her head. "So much that you do not know. The living do not live here, child. It is odd how much people will keep from others."

Alana stared at the woman, not sure where to start. "People have been keeping things from me?" The woman nodded slowly. "Can you tell me what they haven't been telling me?"

The woman took a deep breath and shook her head. "Those are things best left to be told by others. I have my jurisdictions, and it is not one."

Alana sighed and her shoulders slumped. "Well damn."


	18. Chapter 17

Redemption Chapter 17

Tex stared at the walls, looking for any sign that she was going the right way. All she could see was rusty metal and moss growing here and there. It was odd. Of all things such a normal thing like moss seemed insane to exist here. She expected blood, bugs, maybe claw marks hinting at some vile creature ahead, but there was none of that. She'd been wandering for sometimes. The ground under foot seemed to change from rock to metal randomly until it had finally settled on metal.

She passed doors that didn't have handles, ones that she could see through the windows of but could only see the metal of the wall behind. Tex stopped as she reached a door that she could actually see through and hand a handle. She stood outside of it, trying to get a good look at what was inside. Very little of it was lit, but she could see a figure hunched over a table, a bright light pointed down at the table. Tex watched the person for a few minutes before figured out who it was. He looked up and she could see his face though the dusty glass. She knew Church's face when she saw it.

Tex tugged on the handle of the door. It rattled but didn't open. Church looked up and saw her, and she saw fear cross his face. He stood and knocked over a few things as he did. "Church, open the door!" Tex hoped that he'd be able to hear her through the glass. She banged on the door and Church took off at a run, vanishing into the darkness.

Tex cursed as he vanished and pulled on the handle as hard as she can. The door easily came open, causing her extra force to cause her to fall to the ground. She groaned but managed to recover quickly. Tex ran into the room, moving to the table. She looked around but the darkness was like a void that swallowed all life. She picked up the light on the table and shined it around the room. It didn't find anything. Not even the opposite side of the room. She searched the walls back the way she'd come and after a few seconds found a light switch.

Tex moved to the switch and flicked it on. The darkness was driven away and she was left standing in what seemed to be an office area. There were broken cubicles in the center of the room and she could see where broken computers had fallen to the floor. Tex moved back to the desk that she'd seen Church sitting at. There were pens on the desk and a broken datapad with a webbing of cracks across the screen like someone had hit it, hard. The back of the datapad had been torn out and there was a large burn mark on the circuit board. Well that would be useless, even if it did have a working screen. Tex searched through the drawers of the desk to find anything.

In the bottom right hand drawer she found a broken bottle of whisky and a small glass. The bottle must have broken in the drawer as all the papers under it were ruined. In the left top drawer she found a gun, with a set of clips. Tex looked over the magnum, surprised to see it. Had Church hidden it there, or had he been trying to retrieve it. Still, it didn't explain why it was that he'd run from her.

Tex slipped the extra clips into her pocket and, after checking that the safety was on, slipped the gun in the back of her pants. She moved around the desk, glancing at the name plate up front. She could just barely make out the name Director L. L. Church. This place certainly did have an odd sense of humor. Though she'd expected something more along the lines of Director of the Dying, not simply Director. Tex glanced over her shoulder, checking around to be sure that there was nothing that might attack her, before she looked over the things that had fallen to the ground. She looked through the papers but some of them were smudged or torn, parts of them missing. She picked up what little she could tell was real and then grabbed the other item on the ground. It was a small datachip. Tex looked it over, wondering what might be on it. She moved through the room to the computers and started to rummage through them. She found a few broken components that would work and then moved back to the desk. She started to tear apart the datapad and rebuild it with the pieces she'd salvaged. After several minutes of work she snapped the case together and tapped the power button. The screen came to life, glowing eagerly at her. She slipped the datachip in and accessed the data.

Tex scrolled through the documents and voice files. She read over reports of mental statuses, of mission reports and a mention and odd explanation of some sort of leader board. Tex didn't really understand what it was all about. She stopped as she reached some image files. She recognized the faces here, but she couldn't place names. A man with a handsome face, his hair a sandy brown and left eye ruined. A woman with orange hair tied back wearing teal armor. Another woman with short silver hair and an angry look on her face. She knew these people, but at the same time didn't. Their names were just out of reach. She moved to the last picture and stared at it, not remembering it, but she should have. It was a picture of her and Church from when they were just little kids. Church was sitting on the ground, holding his cheek while Tex was standing over him with a disapproving look on her face. She tried to remember those days, knowing Church when he was a kid, but she couldn't. She tried to remember the situation. Had she hit him? Had he lost a fight and she was disappointed in it? She wasn't sure if either was correct.

Tex stared at the screen but she was lost in her own head. She tried to remember back to her childhood but she couldn't really remember any of it. She didn't remember her mother and father, or if she had any siblings. She supposed it was just never something she thought about so she'd forgotten it. She thought of when she and Church had dated. She could remember that time vividly, but at times it felt like there were parts of years that were missing. She knew she and Church had some bad times, and they had been so many years ago. She didn't even remember all of what had happened in blood gulch, but she'd hated those times so it made since that she would forget them.

Tex flipped through the files again until she reached the audio logs. She picked a random one and hit the play button. The words that were spoken were in a heavy southern accent that she knew so well, though for some reason she kept thinking of Church. The face that cam e to mind though was older, with a goatee, glasses perched on his nose. A very serious man. Nothing like Church was, or at least nothing like the way Church had been before Silent Hill. She listened intently, not understanding really want he was referring to.

"_Her performance was low, at best. Reckless behavior injured one of them, and alerted them to the fact that we are onto them. Worst, she questioned the system. I think that our new soldier is ready to join the standings. She should help me clear out the ones that are not truly worthy of a top position. I have no doubt that she will easily surpass all of the current agents, and will give them a bit more of a boost with their competitive edge. Alpha believes that it will make us look better as well. When the time comes to move on, they will want so badly to get back their old standing that they will freely agree to take part." _The man paused for a moment. "_I have no doubt that this will be the case, and that things will progress according to plan._"

Tex mulled over what the man had said, not sure what an alpha was in this case. Maybe the head of a cult knowing this place. Then again it could have been a monster. She flicked through until she found one a bit later. This time the man's voice had a hint of anger to it.

"_I am tired of one agent messing up missions. She has consistently been a failure and caused not only the injury of more skilled soldiers, but wasted time. Today she almost cost us the key to using our newly acquired prize. I have my final list now, and that is all that matters. We can more on to the next stage, and I am sure that they can all handle it. I have found the one drawback to having added Texas to the list of agents. As she is a part of the top ten, she will be included in the testing. Alpha assures me that she can handle it, and that she is not fragile like the minds of the agents. I am inclined to agree._"The man's voice suddenly became quieter. "_I must note that there is something wrong with Alpha. He has lost many of his functions, and seems to be slowly losing all usefulness for the project._"

Tex was still frozen on the word Texas. Why was this guy talking about someone named Texas. She didn't think it was her, after all she wasn't usually called Texas, only Tex. She once more contemplated who or what Alpha might be. Since the man had said functions she was thinking maybe a creature, something that was a tool to this person. She couldn't be sure, but it seemed likely. She moved down much lower and once more hit play. The words were sad and she could hear a tint of frustration to the man's voice.

"_I should have known that Texas would do such a thing. I had moved it there as to save anyone from seeing the horrors made by this project. It is why I moved away the failures to where the agents would never see them. I particularly wanted to save her from seeing it in such a condition. I have regrets of what I've done, and one of them is letting them be close. I ignored that she would talk to him on occasion, at least that I knew of. Since then we have moved it again. We are preparing to send it to a new location, but an odd thing has happened. It thinks it is alive. It believes it is human." _

The recording ended and Tex stared at the screen. There were things in her head, things that she wasn't sure if they were real or something she was just imagining. She was just about to pick another of the recordings to listen to when a blade slammed down, crashing through the datapad and shattering the screen. Tex looked up to see one of the bandaged monsters standing before the desk, the blade in the datapad attached to its arm where the hand should have been.

The creature pulled the blade free of the desk and Tex stood up, knocking the chair over behind her. This figure's bandages were all a dusty brown, though the metal attached to it was a bit more organized. There was metal plates on its thighs and a place on its chest and arms, like a set of armor. It tried to move toward her but bumped into the desk, unaware that it was in the way.

Tex drew the gun from her pants and pointed it at the enemy. She fired and the shot hit where the left eye should have been. The creature faltered for a moment and then turned, starting to move around the desk. Tex could see that where she'd shot the bullet had gone through the bandages and into an empty abyss where they eye should have been. It moved around toward her and Tex had to make a choice. The gun wasn't very good. All the parts that you would usually shoot were covered with metal.

Tex moved around the desk as well, putting the gun away. She kept her hands at the ready, prepared for the thing to attack as she circled it. The creature turned with her, as though seeing her with the empty socket on the left side of its face. It was unnerving to look into that black hole and prepare to fight it.

The creature suddenly moved forward and Tex moved out of the way. The creature didn't swing with much actual aim or form, just sort of flailed about. It made it harder to move out of the way as it wildly tried to hit her. She kept slowly backing up, turning them as she did. It swung and caught Tex a bit off guard. The blade cut through her arm and she took several steps back. She felt the blood drip down from the wound but she focused on the creature moving toward her again.

She backed up slowly, waiting until it was where she wanted. Her foot hit the bottom of the desk and she stood at the ready for the creature. The bandaged monster raised both blades and swung down. Tex leaned back over the desk and quickly tucked her feet to her chest, rolling backward over the wooden desktop. She hit the ground a bit hard and cursed at the pain that went shooting through her arm. She got to her feet and looked at the monster who's hands were both stuck deep in the wood. It struggled but didn't seem to understand what was going on.

Tex moved up to the other side of the desk and watched it for just a moment then looked down at her arm. Tex pulled the gun from her pants and grabbed it by the barrel. She waited and then struck out. The gun struck the creature in the side of the head and she could swear that she heard the sound of metal hitting metal. The strike sent a jolt up her arm and the gun fell from her hand.

The creature fell to the side then pulled itself up, still stunned from the strike. Tex wasn't sure why but she reached out, grabbing into the empty socket. She pulled on the skull inside and the bandages gave way. There was a bit of blood that flew through the air as the skull came lose. She looked down at it, seeing that half the skull, the left side, was metal while the other side was bone.

Tex jumped a bit as the body moved again, still trying to pull free. She started to hit it over and over with the skull until the bone half gave way and cracked. She was breathing heavily when she stopped and realized that the body had stopped moving. She picked the seat up from the ground and sat down in it, trying to calm herself. She reached down and picked up the gun, putting it in her lap, afraid something would attack her while she tried to calm down. She'd just beaten the thing to death with its own skull. That didn't seem physically possible. She really hated this damn town.


	19. Chapter 18

Redemption Chapter 18

The door broke open and wood flew through the air. A body slammed into Alex, causing the both of them to fall to the ground. Alessa moved out of the way of the falling people, ducking back into the living room. A roar shook the house hard enough that a picture fell from a table in the room to shatter on the ground. Alessa moved back around the corner and grabbed, Alex to pull him into the room.

Alessa stopped as the figure who had landed on Alex started to sit up. She looked at him, not believing who it was. He rubbed his head, brushing a few bits of wood out of his hair. "Damn, you do realize that you didn't need to do that." The house shook again as something ran into it. "Ha, you can't get in there, jack ass." He finally turned from the door and looked to Alessa. His triumphant smirk immediately turned to a frown. "I am disappointed in you."

Alessa wasn't quite sure what to say. She looked over as Alex moved to his own feet. "No, I'm all right. No need to apologize for trying to kill me or anything." He looked at the other man and then to the door. "You brought that here. What the hell is wrong with you?!" He grabbed Alessa and pulled her into the living room. "You're lost your damn mind."

"Don't question me. He can't get his fat helmet into this damn place." He stayed in the hallway, glancing toward the door. "There's nothing to be worried about. Now, I have business with the two of you." He moved into the room and stood before Alex. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you."

Alex scowled at him. "Now just a second, what did I do against your trust?" Alex crossed his arms, looking toward the doorway as there was another bang. "I have done everything you told me to, Church. I've been good to Alessa, I've kept things safe, and I came here just like you ordered."

"That's not exactly what I wanted. I ordered you alone to come. Though I supposed the true fault for that failure falls on other people's shoulders." Leonard ran a hand through his hair. He took a deep breath. There was another bang and he rolled his eyes. "Seriously, now you're just being annoying." He turned his attention to the two people. "I thought I told you two to go to the house anyway. What would make you think this is the house I was talking about?"

"You told us to go to the house? I was told to go to a house by the other Alex, not you." Alessa furrowed her brow. "I haven't spoken to you at all since all of this started. In fact, I don't think I've heard from you since I was a teenager."

"Do you really think that although the map says something differently Alex is going the correct direction by accident?" Church rubbed his temples and there was a louder bang. "I can't tell if it's these people, or if this place is just getting to me, but I think I'm going nuts."

"Dad please, we need your help. Do you know where Alana is? Do you know if she's safe?" Alessa watched her father, worried. He didn't seem to be paying attention. He wasn't looking at them and he was gritting his teeth. "Dad, what is going on."

Church finally turned his attention back to her. "Alessa, it's very complicated." He stopped as there was a loud crash and wood hit the floor. He'd just pulled the knife from his belt when a hand grabbed Church's shoulder. It squeezed and Alessa could hear bone snap and saw blood start to soak into Church's shirt as the fingers broke skin. The blade fell from Church's hand, clattering to the ground. "This is going to hurt."

Alex grabbed Alessa and turned her away from the scene. Something wet hit her and she felt a couple of the warm drops hit her arm and neck. Alessa tried not to think of what the sounds she said meant. There was an odd wet sound as something was pulled free from something wet. There was a thud and Alessa closed her eyes, putting her face against Alex's chest. Alex's arms wrapped around her and a low growl reverberated through Alessa's bones. She moved a bit away from Alex and looked over her shoulder, seeing pyramid head standing behind them. He was reaching down, but seemed to be ignoring them.

Alessa watched as pyramid head stood up and turned, starting to move away. She turned back to Alex and waited until the footsteps had faded away. Alessa then moved away from him and she turned to look back. There was blood on the floor, soaking into the wood and rug. It was smeared toward the door and Alessa knew that pyramid head had dragged away the body.

Alex moved away from Alessa, moving toward the doorway. He edged forward and then relaxed. "I think he's gone. I have no idea why he was here, though." Alex looked back to Alessa and scratched his head. "I am so confused about what's going on."

"You shouldn't be." Alessa ran her hand over her arm and neck to try to rub off the blood that had hit her. It really only smeared and Alessa frowned. "There is no confusion. Dad told us what to do. We have to find this house that he was talking about and go to it." Alessa moved to the doorway and looked outside. She looked down the street and could see pyramid head meandering down the street. He seemed to have no interest in them anymore. "Come on, we need to get moving."

"Wait, we can't just walk out there." Alex grabbed Alessa's arm and kept her inside the house. "We need something to protect ourselves with."

"Well that pipe didn't do much of anything at all, so unless you're suddenly going to find a sword, we don't have anything." Alessa moved to try to walk out again but Alex stopped her.

He looked around and then knelt down; grabbing the knife that Church had dropped. He held it up so that Alessa could see it. "Well at least he did some good for us." Alex moved to take the lead and looked out the door. "Just for the record, I still think this is a stupid idea."

"I don't see how it can be." Alex started to move and Alessa followed behind him. "Dad told us where to go. I don't doubt him. He's protected us."

"I think your faith might be a little blind. I mean, this place messes with your head. For all we know that wasn't really your dad." Alex turned down the street and started to move cautiously. "I mean, for all we know it was just someone that looked like your dad."

"I know my dad when I see him. That was him." Alessa glared at her husband. "I mean, sure, I've never really met him in person, but mom says that I have, and I just…I know him."

"You know, there's one thing really bugging me. Why did your dad go to your mom to tell me that I needed to come here. I mean, if what my dad told me is right, that I'm from Silent Hill or connected to it or something, why did he come to her and not directly to me? How do we know that Alana isn't just bait and the Church that came to visit your mom just the set up. How do we know that the Church we just saw was actually him and not just a lie?"

"We have to have faith, it's not that difficult." Alana shook her head. "My mom told me that when we were teenagers, that whole thing, that dad saved us. We have to face that we're in over our heads. I know my father knows more about this than either of us do. Besides, it's not like we have another choice?" Alessa stopped and looked down the street. "Who is he?"

Alex turned to look at the man running toward them. He was wearing a green jacket and something about him seemed so familiar to Alessa. What was unnerving was the line of rain that seemed to be falling only feet behind the man, moving at the same pace as him, as though chasing him. Alessa had never seen anything like it.

Alex moved between the man and Alessa. The man just kept running and as he got closer Alessa could see the look of terror on his face. When he got close enough they could hear that he was shouting to them. Alessa could just barely make out the words. "Run, run from the rain! There's a monster in the rain! Run for your life!"

Alex pushed Alessa back a bit. "Run," he instructed. Alessa was too stunned by the sight of the moving rain that she didn't fight him. She turned and ran away from the rain. She could hear Alex running behind her. At least they were still heading in the right way.

Alessa just ran, not sure of when to stop or if there was anywhere they'd be able to get away from the rain. None of the homes they seemed to pass looked at all inviting. Alex finally grabbed Alessa's arm and pulled her in a direction. They turned down a street that went to the left and Alessa looked between the buildings. She was surprised to see that the rain wasn't behind the buildings. She just tried to focus at keeping up with Alex. He seemed to know where he was going.

Alex suddenly turned and Alessa followed him. He charged at a door and slammed his shoulder into it. The door broke and Alex fell into the building. Alessa followed him in, hoping that they'd be safe. She looked over her shoulder as the man followed them in. She moved to Alex, not sure if this man could be trusted.

"That was some quick thinking, Alex. Though you sure you're all right? That had to have been a hard hit." The man moved over toward them and frowned as Alessa moved a bit away from him. "What? I'm not your enemy."

"I don't know who you are, and I tend not to trust people from this place," Alessa explained. She moved over to Alex and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right? You hit that door hard."

"Not so good. I kind of forgot about my injuries. Guess the adrenaline made me forget about it." Alex glanced over his shoulder at the man. He stood up, becoming a bit more serious. "I want to know how you knew my name?"

The man looked at him a bit confused. "What do you mean, Alex? It's me, James. How do you not know who I am?" He furrowed his brow, glancing toward Alessa.

Alex shook his head. "You have me confused with Alex Shepherd. I'm not him." Alex glanced toward Alessa and something was wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it. It wasn't like when the other Alex took over. No, this was something different that she couldn't put a finger on.

James looked between the two of them and then shrugged. "Well, I suppose that doesn't matter. I'm really not going to be too picky with the help I can get when I have to fight this damn stuff." He motioned toward the door. The door was still open so the rain outside was visible.

"How is it that you know Alex Shepherd?" Alessa asked, looking at the man. She felt like she remembered a man named James but she couldn't be sure from where. She wasn't sure if they should trust him or not, but then again they didn't have a lot of choices. Hey would have to wait for the rain to pass before they could go anywhere, if what the man had said was true. If there were really monsters in the rain then they were in trouble.

There was a pounding noise, something steadily hitting the ground. They all stood and looked out the door as something streaked past. The noise stopped and the mass moved back toward the house. It was like nothing Alessa had ever seen. It looked to be a dog, but it wasn't normal. Rather than paws the creature had hooves. Large, curled tusks poked out from its lips. The beast's tail was long and that of a pig. Its fur was a mix of red and orange that seemed to change as it moved like flames along its body.

"Just great, now we have a pig dog." Alex groaned and moved toward it. "Can it move out of the rain?" He looked back at James who just shrugged. Alex turned his attention back to the creature and just watched it.

The creature barked but it ended in an odd snort. It huffed as it stood in the yard, starting to pace. From the way it was acting it didn't seem like it was able to get into the building with them. "Seems like it can't get out of the rain."

The creature let out an odd bark that hurt Alessa's ears. Alex's fist clenched and his shoulders slumped. Alessa watched him, not sure what was going on.

He suddenly turned around and Alessa could see that he wasn't the same Alex. His eyes were cold and he had an angry look on his face. "Get away from him!"

Alessa turned around to face James. She turned just in time to see the pipe as it swung. It hit her head and she fell to the ground. Her vision blacked out and she fell unconscious.


	20. Chapter 19

Redemption Chapter 19

Grif walked down the hallway, not at all sure where it was he was going. Every place seemed to look the same and it was all just one giant maze. He had been walking for a while so he found a spot that didn't seem to be likely to have something gross on it and sat down. He leaned back against the wall and shut his eyes, listening for anything. He was fairly sure that just about anything that might attack him would make some sort of sound, at least while moving on the metal floor. He didn't hear anything so he relaxed a bit.

Grif pulled back out the journal and stared at it, not sure if he should read more. He hadn't particularly liked what he'd read last time, but maybe he could get more insight. Grif opened the journal and flipped through it. He frowned as he found an entry with a different sort of hand writing.

_Dear Journal,_

_Ghost gave you to me. He said you've always belonged to me, but I don't remember. Ghost says a lot of things about me that I don't understand. He introduced me to an older me today. He said it was only one path though, and he was going to change that. Ghost also explained to me some of the things I need to know. He had me meet It, well sort of. I saw It, didn't talk to It. He told me not to talk to It because It lies and is a jerk. It says that things are changing, I don't really understand. _

_Alex_

Grif stared at the entry, not really getting what it all meant. He didn't know the people that the entry spoke of, or why this Alex only wrote with his first name. Grif flipped through the book a bit and found another entry. These entries seemed so much more happier than the other ones, though they all sounded like a kid had written them.

_Dear Journal,_

_Today I watched Big Me die. Ghost told me that he isn't really dead. He was right. Big Me returned later the day. Ghost tried to explain how it all worked, but I don't really understand it. Something about a tree I think, but I don't think it matters. I'm just glad that Big Me is all right. Ghost took me to see It today. Well he was already going and I just followed him. I've never seen It before. It wasn't what I was expecting, that was for sure. Ghost says not to trust It. I guess I should do what he says._

_Alex_

Grif smacked himself in the head with the journal. Nothing in it was very clear. This wasn't his son, and this wasn't the one who had written the journal entries before. How many damn Alex were there in this damn town? Grif flipped through a bit until he found a world that he recognized.

_Dear Journal_

_Ghost and Big Me were talking today. They kept talking about some girl names Alana. I feel like I know her but when I try to think of who she is my head hurts. They were also talking about Alessa, but Ghost wouldn't tell me if she was the Alessa from the stories. I hope not, she was really sad. Ghost tells me that Alessa's story isn't a sad one. He says that she was happy in the end, but he won't tell me that part of the story. Something new was roaming the streets today. I've never seen anything like them, but they were weird. Innocent says that they are fast so they are sometimes hard to kill, but she doesn't worry about them. I went on a walk with her and the monsters just seemed to walk past us. She told me that they weren't ours, so they didn't bother us. I guess it's all part of the game._

_Alex_

Grif sort of wished he knew what the story of Alessa was. He wasn't sure if it was related to his daughter-in-law or not but any bit of information might make these entries easier to figure out. Grif moved on to the next entry that seemed to mention recent events.

_Dear Journal_

_Ghost was really mad today. He wasn't mad at me, or anyone else. Big Me said he was just venting. He said that Alana was here. I haven't seen her so I don't know how he knows. These things showed up, but they aren't like the others. Ghost and Big Me both left, but they said I was safe around the new things. They called them guardians. I really like two of them, and they seem to stick to me. The others are all over, though I've only seen half of them. There was something else new, that wasn't nice. I didn't see it, but it killed Big Me and Ghost. The wall was destroyed and there was a big hole in the ceiling. Ghost told me that if I ever see something big enough to make the hole, I should run. I hope I don't see it. I hope the Alana girl is all right. _

_Alex_

Grif shut the book, staring down at the worn cover. He jumped a bit when a sound suddenly echoed along the hallway. Grif stood up and he looked around, fairly sure he knew what the sound was being cause by. From the steady sounds and the metal hitting metal, he was fairly sure it might be the dog that had attacked him before. Grif looked each way down the hallway and tried to decide which way to go.

Any thought of moving changed as the sirens started to ring though the air. It almost felt like they were loud enough to shake the walls around him. The dark rolled in as though moving along with the sound as it raced through the hallways. Everything was engulfed in the darkness and Grif just stood there, waiting for any sort of light. There was a flash of red to Grif's left and it spread light out over the area. Slowly the large half-mechanical dog came into view. It had grown to stand as tall as Grif, and he remembered seeing it when they'd last fought this place. Though it wasn't exactly the same. Its metal parts were sort of rusting, or maybe that was blood. He couldn't really tell much as everything was tinted red as it usually did at this time. The walls around him peeled away, replaced by rusted grates that allowed red lights behind them illuminate the world around him.

The dog moved forward and Grif took a step back. He gripped the axe, putting away the journal. Each time the dog took a step Grif took two steps back. Grif suddenly just turned and ran. He wasn't sure if he could outrun the dog, but it was his best chance. He wouldn't be able to fight it off, that was for sure, but he might be able to out maneuver it. He ran along the rusted hallways, the dog hard on his heels. He looked for any chance to turn, anything that would let him throw the dog off of his trail, but he couldn't find anything. He was starting to panic a bit, not sure if there was going to be any way that he could get away from the dog.

Grif looked over his shoulder, seeing that the dog was trailing a bit behind him but still running steadily after him. There was suddenly nothing under his feet. Gravity took hold and he started to fall, still moving forward with the momentum of his running. He couldn't see what was below, just a dark abyss that seemed to have no bottom. Grif looked back to see the dog falling after him. He flailed in his panic but the higher mass of the dog was bringing it closer and closer. He then realized, it didn't seem to even notice him. As it got close it didn't make a move to attack or bite at him, just fell.

It gained speed until it was passing Grif. He reached out and grabbed the dog's fur, pulling himself toward it's back and tucking in close. If they hit the ground, maybe the dog's body would be crushed and cushion his fall, or maybe it would just survive and be enough to save him.

They didn't hit ground, instead plunging into the water. They sand down into the water and when Grif was sure the canine would turn around and swim back up, they broke the surface. He didn't understand it. They'd been going down, so how did they end up? Grif just held on tight as the dog paddled over to a staircase and walked up it, barely fitting up the steps. As soon as it reached the top and Grif made a move to slid down its side the dog took off at a full run.

Grif held on tight as the canine made turn after turn. He didn't know where it was taking him, only that he was fairly sure it couldn't be anything good. Then again, nothing here was at all good. He just had to hold on and hope that the dog wouldn't jump into a vat of acid or something. They passed through places that Grif had never seen. They moved over a bridge that when Grif looked below he could see the red river and things floating in it. He didn't waste time thinking of what they might be. He had enough unpleasant things in his mind right now. They passed through an area that was torn apart. Something had gone crazy, cutting up the walls and the metal support beams. The dog navigated it all without trouble, set on its destination.

Grif buried his face against the dog's fur; trying to keep low enough he wouldn't be knocked off by the lower passages the dog was moving through. They suddenly came out into a large hall. Grif was caught off guard as the dog skidded to a halt, sending him flying forward. He hit the ground several times before he slid to a stop. Grif groaned as he stared up at the ceiling. He looked over to where the dog was focusing on something. His attention was pulled to his other side where he saw a mass of short dingy orange fur. It moved and he saw a tail flick, an ear twitch, and its head move. Grif got a good look at the creature's head as it looked back at him. It looked to be a warthog. Though as he looked at it he still didn't see why that was what Sarge had wanted to name the jeep.

Grif's gaze moved past it and he spotted a familiar face, leaning back against the wall, clutching his arm. Grif rolled over and forced himself to his feet. The warthog turned toward him and snorted, stamping a partially moss covered foot on the ground. Grif got a proper look at the creature, frowning. Its fur was dotted with dust and fungus that was growing here and there. He could see full heads of mushrooms on its sides and there was a spider web on part of its tusks. It was like the thing had just sat around, the moss growing on it and then one day it decided to stand up and move.

"Grif, help Alex." Grif looked around the warthog to Simmons who was pointing back behind Grif. He turned back around to finally see what the dog was sniffing at. There was a child lying on the floor and he right away recognized him as Alex, though just a kid. He moved toward the child, stopping as the dog turned and growled at him. Grif searched for his axe and cursed. He must have dropped it when he was falling. A great force suddenly hit him in the back as the warthog rammed him. He hit the ground a few times and rolled to a stop, his head pounding. His hip ached a bit and when he tried to sit up a bit the world swam and he had to lie back down before he vomited.

Grif heard the sound of hooves on the ground and then someone running. Another person suddenly landed on Grif and he looked over to see that Simmons was on top of him, trying to shield him. Something hit Simmons and Grif guessed it was the warthog. He tried to think of anything they could do in order to get out, get away. His arms moved up, trying to shield Simmons's neck and head as he tried to think.

Grif looked to the side where Alex was finally waking up. His eyes opened and he looked over at Grif and Simmons. A look of panic crossed the child's face and Grif put out a hand to him. "Don't panic Alex."

Before he could do anything Alex was up on his feet, running at the warthog. Both Simmons and Grif looked on as Alex pulled on the creature's tusk and it just let him lead it. They watched in silence as Alex hugged the tusk. "Don't hurt them. He's my friend, he's nice to me." The warthog sat down before flopping onto its side. It just lay there like someone had killed it. Alex shook his head and then turned back to Grif and Simmons. He moved over and grabbed Simmons' arm. "Are you all right?"

Simmons sat up moving off of Grif so that he could sit up. "I got a bit hurt by the dog things, the ones without skin." Simmons put an arm around the child and hugged him to his side. "I'm just glad you're all right." Simmons turned to Grif. "Are you all right?"

Grif was just staring at the warthog, watching as the moss started to cover the body of the warthog. "Is it just me or is the algae on that thing growing?"

"Actually, algae can only live on the surface of water. That would be moss on the pig. Though it does seem to be growing." Simmons released Alex so that he could take a step back.

"Now is not the time to be a nerd," Grif snapped. "I am so confused right now." He leaned a bit forward so that he could see Alex. "And I'm a bit hurt that you'll hug him but you won't hug me."

Alex cautiously moved around Simmons and then over to Grif's waiting arms. It was odd to Grif. Alex had always been more than willing to hug him. Simmons had always complained that Grif was his favorite parent. Alex finally came close enough and Grif pulled him into a hug. He frowned as the child seemed scared in his arms. He looked to Simmons for an explanation.

"That's not our son." Simmons leaned over and Alex looked back at him. "It's all right, you're safe with him. This is my husband. The man I love very much." Alex seemed to relax a bit in Grif's arms.

"So, this isn't our son, but a different Alex who's able to control giant monsters. Do you think Church will let us keep this one as well?" Grif hugged Alex a bit tighter. "Thank you for saving us. I was completely out of ideas."

"I don't really control them. I think Ghost sent them here to help me. He says I have to be protected." Alex hugged Grif back closing his eyes. "You're nice."

"See, just a few seconds and he already likes you more than me. I'm telling you, you have to be cheating somehow." Simmons stood up and dusted himself off. He moved his injured arm a bit but Grif could see him wince.

Grif let Alex go but grabbed the little boy's hand as he stood up. He put a hand on Simmons's shoulder. "Don't move it if it's injured. Let it rest some and I'll see if I can find something to bandage it." Grif looked around for anything but was surprised to find himself face to face with the large dog. It barked several times and Grif coughed. "Wow, giant robotic-dog breath. Smells like dead animals and motor oil." He waved a hand in front of his face. "Hey, you're a dog with a good nose know knows this place." The canine just stared at him as he spoke. "Can you take us to our son? He's an Alex, but not this Alex and not the one that fights things. Oh, better, take us to Alessa."

The dog barked again and then moved so that Grif was facing his side. It then lay down and waited. Alex pulled his hand from Grif's and moved over to the animal, climbing up. He settled on the dog's back and looked to Grif. "Well?"

Grif looked back to Simmons who only shrugged. Grif motioned for Simmons to go first. "Why do I have to get on first?"

"Because then I'll be behind you and able to hold onto the dog and you and you'll only be able to hold onto Alex cause I don't think your other arm is strong enough. Now get on the mutt you pansy fairy." Grif motion forcefully at the dog.

"You do realize that calling me a fairy still doesn't work. If I'm a fairy so are you." Simmons grumbled a few more things as he climbed up onto the dog's back.

Grif climbed up behind him and gripped the dog's fur. "Hey Simmons, this remind you of anything. Say maybe an anniversary?" Grif grinned and chuckled leaning forward against Simmons.

"For god's sake, there's a child present. Could you try to keep the humor at least a bit appropriate." Simmons shook his head a bit. "Though honestly it reminds me more of that time after we thought we'd gone ahead in time. You know, when the jeep broke down."

"Oh yeah, good times." Grif looked around Simmons to Alex who was staring at them confused. "I think I have something of yours kid." He pulled out the journal and passed it forward to Alex. The kid took it and hugged it to his chest. Grif gripped the beast's fur once more. "All right, take us to our daughter-in-law." The dog took off at a full run and Grif held on for dear life.


	21. Chapter 20

Redemption chapter 20

Alana's eyes slowly opened. She didn't know where she was at the moment. The last thing she remembered she had been on the bed with that woman, and now she wasn't. Alana sat up, looking around the room. It was a master bedroom, that was for sure. The bed she was on was large enough for two people. The wallpaper around her was starting to peel away, though it was too faded to really make out the original pattern anyway. There was old wood dressers to one side and a wardrobe on the other side of the room. Alana slowly moved to the side of the bed and stood up. It was odd, this place seemed so old, and everything seemed to be covered in dust, but the bed was clean. The sheets may have been faded, but they were clean.

Alana moved through the room, over toward the window and looked down toward the street below. She was on the second floor of a building from the look of it, and from the room she would guess it was some sort of house. She didn't recognize the street though. There was a broken fence out front and the street didn't look like it was in better shape. Alana instead decided she'd focus on the room to try to find any hint of where she might be.

There were pictures sitting on the dresser and she walked along it, seeing what she could figure out. She moved along the line of pictures, examining each of them as she walked. The first was an odd photo of what appeared to be a family. The thing was the mother and father's faces were both scratched out and the son that was standing before them looked demonic. His head was mainly down and the picture was oddly in black and white. Alana scowled at it and moved on, feeling uneasy, like the kid was staring at her.

Alana looked at the next picture and picked it up, looking closely at the figures. She recognized one of the figures. It was most certainly her father, though there was something off. He was wearing an old military jacket and he was carrying a lead pipe in one hand. He was frowning a bit, apparently not happy to have his picture taken. Beside him was standing the woman she'd met earlier. The woman was smiling and waving at the camera. They seemed so different. Alana wondered what that woman was doing with her father, how they knew each other. If she'd known they were familiar with one another she would have asked the woman when she'd last seen her.

Alana set down the picture and moved on to the next one. She stopped as her eyes swept over the remaining photos. These were all of her family. There was a picture of Alex and Alessa on their wedding day, A picture of Alana heading off on her first day of school. There were some really old pictures of her mother, stretching back to when Tex had first adopted her. The one that really caught Alana's eyes was a picture of her grandfather. He stood tall in the picture, his face grim like he'd just been told that humanity was going back to war. He wore a faded blue shirt with the same eagle she'd seen on the journal on his chest. Over the shirt he wore a black jacket, though unlike the shirt the jacket looked new, like he'd just bought it. He wore torn blue camouflage pants and a set of black combat boots. His right arm was stretched out a bit, holding onto the handle of a great blade that crossed behind him toward the ground on his left side. Although the weapon should be heavy he looked like it was nothing for him to hold it up or carry with him.

This picture was so different from the one her grandmother had given her. In the picture she'd been given he looked younger, more vibrant and happy. He looked older in this picture. The thing was he didn't look physically older. There was a look in his eyes that said he'd seen more things in his life than any human should, that he understood life and death and had accepted it, though not very willingly, and this picture had something her picture at home didn't have. This version of her grandfather had scars. She could see them on his hands, on his neck and one on his cheek. Alana reached out carefully and picked up the picture.

Was this what her grandfather looked like now? He looked more like he'd be a threat than a guardian, but her mother and grandmother had told her he would protect her. She had to believe they were right. If she didn't then she didn't have any other hope. She moved to sit on the bed, needing a moment to decide what it was that she wanted to do next. She glanced toward the nightstand beside the table, frowning at the dust covered lamp. It had at one time probably been pure white but now the base was covered in dust, even cracked a bit, and the lamp shade had become a dingy brown. Her eyes traveled down to a clock that sat on the side of the table. The hands didn't move just sat there forever frozen.

Alana's attention was peeked as she recognized a smiling face looking back at her. There, in an old frame with the paint peeling off was a picture of her grandmother. She was so much younger than Alana had ever seen her, maybe even as young as in her twenties. In the picture her grandmother was smiling, maybe even laughing at something. Alana had never seen any early pictures of her grandmother that didn't have her mother in them. This picture though was just of her grandmother. She looked at where it was on the table and realized how close it was to the bed, perfectly lined up so that when someone sat up she would be looking at them.

Alana was now fairly sure that this was her grandfather's house. It was the only way to explain all the pictures of the family and the location of the picture of her grandmother. Her mother had always told her that you kept pictures of those that meant the most to you as close as you could. It made sense that her grandfather would keep a picture of her grandmother so close to the bed.

Alana's line of thought was cut off as a loud scrapping sound of metal on asphalt shook the house. She could have sworn the house had vibrated enough for the pictures to fall but they all stood strong against the force. Alana looked around trying to find the source of the noise. There was then a louder but shorter scratching noise followed a moment later by a resounding thump. The shorter sound repeated three more times, each time followed by a thump and then the long scratch returned, cycling through the scratch-thump rhythm again.

Alana tried to figure out where the sound was coming from. From the way it shook every bit of her she couldn't tell the source. Alana then realized that there was only one place there was asphalt. Alana got up from the bed and moved over to the window, looking down toward the street. She didn't really need to look down to see the source. The great pyramid headed dragon was making its way down the road slowly. It didn't look as broken and weak as the last time she'd seen it. The dragon held its wings partially open to the side and its head was up high, only dripping a bit as it moved. The sound was coming from the monstrosity walking. It was moving its front two feet forward leaning forward, which caused its tail to scratch on the ground, and then moving its back legs. It moved in a steady rhythm, as though marching to the sound of an unheard drum. It wasn't really graceful, but it was much more coordinated then the last time that Alana had watched is clumsily try to take flight.

Alana's eyes turned down to the ground and she spotted a person walking slowly behind the beast, as though it were the creature's trainer and was ready to step in and keep the beast on the street if it decided to try to go anywhere else. She recognized the unkempt black hair, the now slightly torn up black jacket, and the worn and damaged blue camouflage pants. Alana put her hands on the window pane and smiled. Finally, she'd found one of them. "Grandpa!"

The man stopped and looked up toward the window. For a moment Alana's eyes met his and she could tell that something was wrong. There was a troubled look in his eyes like he knew that something awful was coming, like he was a sick patient who'd been told by the doctor he only had one day left on this earth. He then looked away from her, his eyes on the road, and stared to walk.

Alana panicked for a moment. She couldn't let him get away. Alana ran out of the main door of the room to go down stairs. If she hadn't been in a rush she might have noticed that things were wrong. She would have noticed the blood splatter on the walls, the veins that stretched across the walls from the floor, sharp fingers trying so hard to reach up toward the ceiling. She ran down the stairs, just avoiding the places where the wood had broken away leaving holes or jagged uneven patches. She jumped the last two steps as they were gone all together.

Alana pulled the front door open, ignoring the large jagged claw marks in the wood. She stopped as she looked outside. Not only was the dragon gone, but she couldn't find any sign of her grandfather. Alana stood in the doorway, staring out at the empty street. She looked back in the house and now noticed all the things that were wrong. The part of the railing that was gone from the stairs, the places where there were holes in the walls and the veins had crawled out from under the drywall to try to cover up the hole.

Alana suddenly felt like there were threats all around her. The rest of the house was in such bad condition compare to the rest of the house. Alana looked around for anything she could protect herself with and she found something familiar. She picked up the weapon and put the strap around her torso, pulling the blade free. It was awkward in her hand and she had no idea how to use it, but maybe she could scare things away. She remembered seeing it a few times in her mother's old room. She'd never actually looked at the blade, it having always been in the sheath. It was covered with blood, though it was long dried as though the color was just burned there, never able to be washed away.

Alana backed out of the house, shutting the door behind her. She then turned toward the road and looked up and down it. There was no sign that the dragon had even been there. Had it all been her imagination? She looked up and could see the window she'd been looking out. No, this was the same place, the yard was the same. She remembered the dragon falling into the water, but still the direction it had been flying had been the right way for her to go. She moved to the edge of the road and looked both ways, wanting to be sure that there was nothing outside that weak wooden fence that would attack her.

Alana cautiously stepped onto the road. So far so good, nothing had killed her. She turned and started to walk down the street in the direction that the dragon had been heading. She walked quickly, constantly searching the nearby area to make sure nothing came out at her. She held the katana with two hands, trying to keep it steady. She was on edge, expecting something, anything, to jump out and try to bite her head off. Maybe she was just paranoid. So far nothing here had attacked her and she couldn't think of why they hadn't attacked her. Maybe her grandfather was protecting her. He did seem to have control over that dragon thing, but could he control other monsters. She wondered where they ones she'd seen in her dreams were. Where were the dogs of horror, the creepy nurses, or the monsters with sharp fangs and claws?

Alana walked down the street for a while, not really sure what it was that she was looking for. She hadn't seen a single sign that her grandfather had been here and she didn't even see any trace of the pyramid headed dragon. She was starting to wonder if even leaving the house had been a good idea. She also didn't understand why her grandfather would vanish like that. If he was supposed to protect her then why hadn't he stayed with her? Alana remembered the look in his eyes. Maybe he was going to do something very dangerous and he didn't want her in harm's way.

Alana stopped in her tracks as she felt the road under her start to shake. Slowly the rumble of machinery started to fill the air around her and she looked up and down the road, trying to figure out which way it was coming from. Finally a large shadow in the mist appeared back the way Alana had come. She stood and watched as it came closer, slowly turning from shadow to full shape. It was an odd thing, something she'd never seen before.

She could swear it looked like a ram, though it wasn't at all natural. The machine wasn't walking down the street but rather rolling on feet that were little more than tank treads mounted to the side of the thing's body. It stood at about eight feet in total height. It looked like someone had taken the torso, neck, and head of a ram and attached treads to the side, the neck and head low almost enough to touch the ground. The thing's massive horns circled forward several times before joining over the machines steel head in a large cannon.

Alana panicked for a moment, not sure what she should do. This was diffidently not what she wanted to be fighting with a sword, that much she knew. Alana turned and just started to run. She didn't know if the thing knew she was there or not, but if it did she didn't want to stick around. She ran down the street, still able to hear the rumble behind her. She couldn't tell if it was getting closer or further away from her, though.

Alana finally found refuge ahead. There in the distance she could see in bold letters 'Silent Hill Police Department'. Finally somewhere that she might be able to find help. Her mother had always said cops were the good guys. She ran toward the station, forcing the doors open and quickly moving inside. She shut them behind her and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself.

She looked around the station and wasn't happy with what she found. The walls were like the house, faded and falling apart. The tiles of the ceiling were crumbling and some of the squares were gone completely. One light flickered a bit down the hallway and only one other light was on while all the others were either off and missing bulbs or broken. There were papers on the floor and the marble had been broken and scuffed up. If she had to guess she'd say that no one had been here in years, maybe decades. Still, she had no other options now. She couldn't go back out to that ram so she slowly started to move deeper into the station.


	22. Chapter 21

Redemption Chapter 21

Tex had recovered from the shock of fighting the bandaged monster. She was still sitting in the chair, staring down at the brown bandages of the creature. There was something so familiar about it all, but she just couldn't place it. She grabbed the gun and stood up, holding the weapon loosely. She had no idea what to do now. She didn't know where to go from here.

Tex turned, gun up and at the ready as a door slowly opened at one end of the room. She hadn't seen it before and she wondered if it was where Church had gone. She cautiously moved forward, keeping the gun aimed at the doorway. If anything was going to attack her she wanted to be ready.

The door slid all the way open but there was nothing on the other side. Tex cautiously moved forward easing her way through the door. She looked around the area beyond and frowned. The hallway was a worn metal that stretched off in three directions. Tex relaxed a bit, trying to focus. She frowned, confused. Something about this was familiar to her. She felt like she'd been here before but she couldn't place where.

She turned to one of the hallways to the left and started walking. She didn't know why but she felt this was the right way to go. She walked down the hallway, gun still in hand and ready to be brought up to bear at any moment. She felt like someone, or something, was watching her every step. It made her feel uncomfortable, and annoyed. She didn't like the idea that something could see her and she couldn't see it. She needed a target, needed to know if it was friendly or not.

Tex froze as a familiar sound echoed through the hallways. It bounced off the walls and seemed to surround her, enveloping her being and causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up. She searched around, looking for whatever the tell tale sirens could bring forth.

Everything went dark around her. Not a natural dark but a darkness that consumed all things, that seemed to sink down into the mind and darken the thoughts, preparing those around for the horrors that would await them. Tex just stood in the darkness, waiting for it to vanish. She had no idea what she should do or which way was what any more. Usually the world just came back.

There was a spark, like an electric flash of static and from there light eased back, tinted red but light none the less. Tex looked toward the flash and spotted the source. On the ground was a small little rat, though the thing was made of metal. Little sparks of crimson light jumped from place to place on its body. Tex let out a sigh of relief and turned her attention back to the tunnel. It had already changed from the worn metal to rusted grates as she had expected.

Metal scraped over the area behind her and Tex turned around to find herself face to face with a human size version of the mechanical rat. It was standing on two legs, almost human like, but it was diffidently not human. There were bits and places where the metal was missing and Tex could see brown fur that fluffed out. Some spots were damaged and looked like there were bare wires and circuits exposed. She could see mechanisms moving as it stood there, staring at her. Like all the other metal parts of the thing were rusted and while one of its eyes was that of a normal rat, the other was a glowing red orb.

The rat screeched and raised a paw to strike. Tex stepped back just in time to be missed by the swinging paw. Claws scratched up the wall nearby, cutting gashes into the metal. Tex didn't waste time trying to fire on it. She knew that her bullets would be useless against the monster. They'd just bounce off and she would have wasted her ammunition. Instead she did the logical thing. She ran.

Tex turned and sprinted away. She could hear the metal claws scratching on the ground behind her as the rat scurried after her. She didn't look back, just kept running. She made a few turns, hoping to slow it down but it was still behind her. She didn't have any real ideas of how she could stop the creature, only that she had to stop it. She spotted what looked to be doors ahead and raced toward them. Maybe she could get to the other side and block them off so the rat couldn't follow.

Tex's shoulder hit the door and they flew open. She fell to the ground and was not happy with what she found. She was lying at the feet of what looked to be a giant monkey. It's fur was matted though she could tell it was red, although dirty. It had a crazed look in its eyes. One eye was fully open but on the right eye it seemed like the lower lid hadn't gotten the open command and was still closed. Tex rolled out of the way as drool fell down from the creature's mouth. Great oversized teeth hung down like stalagmites from the creature's upper jaw.

The ran jumped through the door but the monkey's arm moved forward. One great hand encircled around the creature's head and the rat could only flail as the monkey held it off the ground. It was now that Tex realized that there was something wrong with the monkey's hands. It's arms from the forearm up were metal and straight. They didn't slim toward the wrist, though there wasn't really a wrist. The fingers came out straight from what should have been the wrist. They were long and metallic just like the arm though they were thickly coated with blood.

The monkey started to sway and suddenly started to cry out in joy. The sound echoed on the walls around them and it slowly started to thrash about. Tex got to her feet and moved away from the beast, not sure what exactly it was doing. Its limbs started to flail and the rat was smacked repeatedly against the ground and nearby objects. Finally the monkey held the rat up and suddenly lines of the mental on the monkey's arm shot backward. At the same time a blast of fire burst forth from the wrist of the mutated monkey and blasted through the head of the rat. The limp body fell to the ground, some sort of fluid dripping from its neck and pooling on the ground. Tex guessed it might have been coolant or hydraulic fluid.

The monkey moved to the corpse, starting to jump up and down on the body, breaking it more under its weight. It suddenly stopped and turned to face Tex letting out a loud shout of joy again. Tex raised her weapon and aimed at the monster's chest. She fired four times, all the shots hitting but they didn't seem to do much. They didn't even look like they penetrated that far into the body, only a bit of blood sliding down the creature's fur from the holes.

The monkey moved to grab her but Tex rolled to the side, running back behind the ape. She was hit in the side, hard, but the monster's tail and it caused her to fall to the ground. The monkey turned toward her and started to sway, pounding on the ground with iron fists. The metal to metal contact shook the area and Tex remained on the ground, not wanting to fall due to the vibrations in the metal floor.

The monkey suddenly raced forward and Tex raised her gun, firing five times. Three of them hit the monkey's shoulders and torso. It was almost on her when something suddenly struck it in the side. A long streak of dingy cyan hit the monkey and they both fell to the ground. The monkey got up first and it started to thrash about. It slammed down its fist, trying to hurt the enemy, but it moved out of the way. The long line of cyan circled around the monkey, pinning its arms to its side.

The monkey couldn't really move and the cyan creature was just slowly squeezing the life of its foe. Tex finally made sense of what she was seeing. The creature attacking the monkey was a large cyan snake with spiky scales and a segmented lower jaw. Large fangs poked up toward the ceiling from the lower mandibles, making them sit oddly in the snakes mouth. The snake was hissing down at the monkey, spreading its lower jaws wide. The large fangs sank into the monkey's chest while the top mandibles cut into the creature's shoulders.

The monkey still struggled as the snake tried to kill it. The trapped monster got its arms lose enough and placed them on the snakes body. It fired, fire bursting forth from its wrists and tearing through the snake's body. The serpent fell, releasing the monkey. It pulled the fangs from its body and tossed the dead monster from it.

The monkey turned, fully focusing on Tex. It raced forward though Tex could already see where the snake's venom was spreading over the monster's chest, causing green and purple veins to rise to the surface. Still, it charged forward. Tex raised her gun to fire the last of her shots into it but the gun gammed. A metal hand hit her and she collided with the wall. Tex's vision blacked out, the last thing she saw was the monkey falling to the ground.

Tex's eyes opened but something was different. The light was wrong. It wasn't the red she'd just been in but rather a soft blue. She looked around and realized where she was. This was the tower where she'd been kept the first time they arrived. The twelve status stood tall, around them. At least there were supposed to be twelve. There were only eight still standing. From the looks of it the monkey, snake, rat, and rooster statues had all fallen. It was then that Tex connected it all. She cursed inwardly that she hadn't realized it earlier but she hadn't realized, had been blind to it all.

Tex stood but found that once more she was not in her own body. She found herself once more in the furry body of some sort of creature. She looked around the area and finally spotted what she expected. Nearby Church was kneeling on the ground. She studied the scene carefully. Church was leaning, shirtless, over a circles of candles. Tex eased forward, wanting to see what he was doing.

Slowly the sound of chanting became clear and she could hear that it was Church chanting. On the floor there was a circle, symbols drawn on the inside in precise places. All of it was drawn in blood and Tex could see where there was still blood dripping from Church's hand. She took a few more steps closer and saw that in the circle Church had gathered several things. There were some plants that lay about, a blue ribbon tied around some sort of old ring. What caught her eye was that with the items was a picture of Alana.

Tex didn't ask what he was doing, she knew he couldn't understand her speech in this body. The chanting grew louder and Church's hands balled into fists. He was saying something in a language she didn't know, repeating it over and over.

Tex took a step back as blood started to run down Church's arm. She watched in horror as slowly long cuts started to stretch over his body. They mad patterns and symbols along his arms and back, spreading from the base of his neck out. His chanting turned to cries of pain. There was nothing Tex could do but watch as he doubled over on the floor, curling up as the markings spread all the way down his legs, soaking his pants with blood before reaching his feet. Tex wanted nothing more than to help him but there was nothing she could do. She wanted to look away but couldn't bring herself to do so.

The blood started to pool on the ground and finally Church went limp. Tex watched as the blood spread over the circle following the lines that had already been drawn. It raced toward the center and finally touched one of the objects. In a flash the circle ignited. Tex moved forward, grabbing Church's pants with her teeth and pulling him back away from the fire. She used her paws to pull him a bit close as she sat down, trying to shield him.

The fire died down almost as quickly as it had started leaving only a turn of the pattern on the ground behind. Tex sat and just waited, not sure what else to do. She felt something move against her leg and looked down at Church as he rolled over. The cuts on his body were still bleeding a bit but for the most part had stopped. Tex looked down at him and waited, not sure what else to do.

Church looked up toward her and his hand reached out, touching her cheek lightly. She shouldn't have been able to feel it through her fur but it was as though he was touching her bare skin. "Tex." She leaned down toward him to be able to hear him better. "This isn't what I wanted. I don't want any of this." His head shook lightly. "What stupid farces we fall for." She felt compelled, leaning down to rest her head on his chest. She felt a bit of fear as she realized that his heart wasn't beating. "You can't save what's dead."

Tex's eyes opened and she was staring up at the rusted metal ceiling surrounded by red light. She sat up, looking around. The snake, rat, and monkey were all still lying on the ground, their bodies lifeless. Tex forced herself to her feet, swaying a bit. She reached up and felt the back of her head. There was dried blood but she didn't know for sure how bad it was. She did know she couldn't stay here.

Tex looked around and finally found a door, one that she hadn't already come through. Tex staggered toward it, finding it a bit hard to stay standing. She reached the door and pulled it open, finding another hallway. Tex stepped in and then shut the door behind her. If anything wanted to come after it at least it would have to open the door if not bust it down. She then turned and started down the hallway.

She wasn't sure how long she walked. She paused a few times, things running through her head. They were nothing but jumbled thoughts. She couldn't come out with anything that was clear so she just pressed on, trying to ignore the thoughts. She finally reached a set of steps that followed along the rounded wall of a large room. Tex made her way down slowly, looking down at the area below. She could see that standing nearby was an odd demonic horse, or maybe pony was a better word as it was a sort of pink color. Or maybe it was white and the light made it look pink.

Tex turned her focus to what was in the center of the area. In the center stood a set of rusted rods that stretched up at least ten feet into the air. From those rods hung tattered red curtains. They were barely hanging on, but Tex hadn't expected much more than that. She made her way down the stairs, being careful to avoid the parts that were falling apart.

Tex reached the bottom and the horse took a few steps toward her but didn't make any move to attack. For now Tex decided that she'd ignore it. She walked toward the structure, knowing that this was what she was looking for. She moved the curtain back and stepped in, a bit surprised by what was waiting for her.

Inside sat the woman from the dream, though she didn't look as lovely as Tex remembered. Her red dress was faded and stained, her hair looked duller, and she seemed thinner, like she wasn't eating. The woman sat in a large cushioned chair that looked more like it belonged in a haunted mansion than here. Across from her was a slightly smaller blue cushioned chair. The woman motioned toward it.

Tex sat down in the chair and stared at the woman. "I came, now I want my husband." Tex didn't want to sit down and beat around the bush. She just wanted to know what she had to do to get Church back.

"You never married him." The woman's voice was quiet, and there was a sad look on her face. "Though I fear things have changed."

"Wait, you told me that if I wanted him than I had to come and get him. I came and I want him back." Tex wasn't about to let some weak woman like this tell her that she couldn't have what she earned.

"You can have him if you want him when you know all, but first you'll have to save him." The woman sat up a bit and leaned toward the table. She pulled something out from between the seat and her leg, putting it down on the table. "Though why I brought you here was not only that. You're thinking things, things that make no sense." Tex didn't know what to say. She didn't know how this woman knew that she was having visions. Instead, Tex stared down at the dagger on the table, entranced by the brilliant blue metal and the intricate markings. "Go ahead and ask."

Tex turned her gaze back up toward the woman. She stared at her for a few minutes and then spoke. "Am I real?"


	23. Chapter 22

Redemption Chapter 22

Alessa's head pounded as she slowly came back to consciousness. She tried to move but stopped as she felt that her arms were tied behind her back at a painful angle. She slowly opened her eyes to look at the room around them. There was a set of old wooden stairs to one side of the room that she could see. They looked old, like they'd give out if someone tried to use them. Then again, a lot of things in this town looked that way but were sturdy.

Alana examined the rest of the area, fairly sure this was probably a basement from the support beams and the concrete walls around them. The odd thing was a series of vines that were growing along the wall. In places they'd broken through the concrete. The leaves on them were a sickly brown but the vines themselves seemed to be a shade of red. She couldn't tell how they'd gotten into the basement. It looked more like they'd just slithered out of the shadows to claim whatever space they could reach.

Alessa stopped as she realized that she could see the color. That meant there was a source of light. From how much she could see, it wasn't a super strong source but it was light. She looked around and finally figure out where it was. There were candles set about, in a sort of loose circle. She looked toward the center and took in a sharp breath as she caught sight of two figures.

One figure was standing beside a table leaning over the second figure who was lying on the table. The figure on the table was struggling against bonds that held him down to the wood, mouth open in a silent scream. Her eyes adjusted and she realized the full scene. The blade in the standing man's hands was coated with blood. She watched as the blade lowered again, running along the restrained person. She looked to the struggling man and felt a spike of fear.

Alessa started to struggle against her restraint. She had to take action, had to do something. Her arms ached and she shifted a bit on the ground, but the rope around her wrists and arms was too tight. She couldn't break though it without something sharp. Her gaze turned back to the table. She could only sit and watch, trying to think of any way to help. She watched the horror in his gray-brown eyes as he tried to cry out against the pain.

Alessa clenched her teeth, putting as much as she could into her struggling. "Get your damn hands off of my husband you bastard." Maybe if she could at least pull his attention away from Alex, maybe give her time to do something, to do something to save them.

The man stopped in his actions and turned toward Alessa. She finally saw his face and wasn't all that surprised to see it was James, the man they'd just met. "You know, you really shouldn't be so eager." He moved along the room getting closer to her. "The ritual is done now so we can move on." James moved over toward her, crouching down. He held the knife loosely in his hand.

Alessa kept her eyes on the knife. Not so much because she felt there would be anything she could do against it, but pure fear that told her to keep an eye on the weapon threatening her. She tried to distract him, buy herself some time to think. "What did you do to my husband? What do you mean ritual?"

James ran a hand through his hair, apparently not minding that his hands were covered in Alex's blood. "You know he's one of us. He should be on our side for this. Though instead he's allowed his reasoning to be clouded by the lies of that god." He spat out the word 'god' like it was spoiled milk in his mouth. "I simply did some reminding. Reminded him of what this place is, of how much good our plan with do. I reminded him of the pain that this place causes each and every time that someone comes here."

"The only one that caused him pain is you. You cut him up." Alessa struggled a bit again but it was pointless. She just didn't want to feel like she was doing nothing. "Let us go."

"Sorry, you don't have any power here. Not that you'd ever have power over me. I'm free, I won against it." James stood up, moving around Alessa. "I am free of its pain and torment. I am one of the few who have beaten Silent Hill."

"You're more delusional than I thought." Alessa recognized the voice, turning her head to look to the stairs where he was slowly walking down the steps. "You didn't beat anything, James, only failed to learn and accept what it showed you."

"Ah, I knew you'd show up if I got the right bait." There was obvious triumph in James' voice. "You're really rather predictable. Though I don't know what You'd know of winning against Silent Hill? You didn't beat it. It won against you. You died!"

He took a few steps down the stairs and shook his head. "You don't get it, which is why you're blinded to what you're doing. I won't let you do it." He reached back, pulling the katana from the sheath on his back. "Now, take a step away from my daughter. If you don't touch her, then I will make your death swift and painless. Lay a finger on her, and I shall show you that you have no understanding of the word 'pain.'" Church reached the bottom step, looking over toward Alex. Alessa could see the sad look on his face. He moved across the room, moving to stand beside the table.

Alex looked up at him, still fighting the restraints but his mouth was moving to try to say words. Alessa tried to look back to see James but her head couldn't quite move to see him. She turned her gaze back toward her father.

Church reached out, his hand settling on Alex's chest. Her husband's body relaxed, eyes slowly closing. His body went limp and Leonard removed his hand from Alex's chest. He turned back toward James and Alessa. "This has to end."

James moved around and Alessa was finally able to see him. He moved to stand in front of her, the knife loosely held in his hand. "It will end, you just need to agree to help us. You're the only one standing against us. If you join then nothing will be able to stop us."

Church shook his head, taking a step toward James. "You're delusional, James. I'm not going to join you. What you're doing is wrong, and I won't take part. I want you to leave my family alone. I want you to leave me alone. Leave It alone." Church raised his sword pointing it at James. "I've had enough of your cocky heresy."

"Heresy? You talk like you believe it is actually a god. What's happened to you? I thought you were with us, believing it was nothing more than a demon pretending to be a god." James shook his head and took a fighting stance.

Church raised an eyebrow at him. "Seriously, you're going to bring a knife to a sword fight? Very well, it will make cutting your heart out all the easier."

"Fine, if you won't join us, then we'll just have to force you to take part." James moved forward and swung his knife. Leonard had no trouble deflecting the blow with his swords. James stepped back, expecting Church to strike back. Church didn't move, just watched him. "What, don't have the guts to attack?" James taunted.

Leonard shook his head and just stood at the ready for James to attack. "Alessa, I need you to stay calm, and no matter what happens, remember that nothing bad will happen to you." He looked down toward her and smiled a bit.

James took this as a chance to attack and lunged forward. Leonard reacted. He deflected the strike and stepped to the side. Alessa watched him as he moved toward her and then out of sight. The restraints on her arms fell away and she let her arms relax. Alessa pushed herself up to her feet, rubbing a bit at her wrists.

"Alessa, go to him. I'll take care of this." Leonard didn't look at her, eyes focused fully on James. Alessa moved around the two men and made a run for Alex. She looked back to see the men preparing to fight. She had no idea what was going on, or why it was that James thought her father would join them when they had attacked her and Alex.

Alessa turned her gaze to the man tied to the table. Alex's eyes were still closed and his body was limp. She could see that James hadn't bothered removing Alex's shirt, just cut through it. She reached out and moved the fabric a bit to get a better look at one of the wounds. It was curved and didn't look to be too deep but the area was bloody. She wasn't very good with medicine, so she had no idea how bad they really were. She leaned down, tilting her head so her ear was parallel with his chest and only inches above. She couldn't hear anything so she leaned down, gritting her teeth and pressing her ear to the bloody cloth. She focused fully on what she could hear and not the warm fluid and the smell of it so close to her nose. She heard a faint beat, slow but steady. At least he was still alive.

Metal clashed against metal and Alessa's attention was pulled from her husband to the fighting men. She looked over her shoulder where the two men were fighting. James was swinging wildly while Church was simply deflecting each blow. Alessa looked around, trying to find anything she might be able to use in order to help her father. James cried out and Alessa saw him fall partially to the floor, clutching his arm.

Church stood over him, sword still at the ready. "I'm sort of confused as to what it is that you have planned. I mean, you bring a knife to fight my sword, you know I'm better with a blade than you are, and you don't have anyone to back you up and give you any sort of advantage. You know that Alex won't change his mind just because you fill in the blanks. He knows what we're fighting for, so why attack him? Why challenge me? What are you planning?"

James smiled a bit and relaxed. "Well, we never did say you were stupid. Guess that's why you figured out what we were up to. You're actually very annoying because we had to jump through some hoops to keep you from finding out and stopping us before we were ready." Alessa felt a chill run down her spine as a sound echoed around them, steadily growing louder and louder. The sirens seemed to wash over them like a cold wind causing a spike of panic. She knew that siren, knew it was bad. "Ah, now you get to see my plan."

Alessa gripped her head as the sirens sunk in, ringing in her head painfully. "You are so fucking stupid." Alessa looked over to her father whose face was contorted in pain, as though the sirens were drilling into his skull. "You think you'll beat me in the Otherworld then your dumber than I thought. It had power in that world, and It's on my side." Leonard grinned and Alessa's vision darkened.

When her vision cleared she found that everything had changed. She'd never seen anything like the area around them. The walls were metal grates only interrupted by some larger areas where there were slow moving fans. Light spread from behind the grates tinting everything an odd red color. The vines that she'd seen before had changed into thorny veins of flesh. The candles that had once been the light were now nothing more than puddles on the ground.

Alessa looked over to where there was motion and found her father crouched down over someone else. She pushed herself away from the table, realizing that when her vision had gone out, she must have passed out and leaned against it. She opened her mouth to call to him but stopped when she saw him raise a knife. He brought the blade down and she heard it sink into soft flesh. She heard the knife fall to the ground and then watched as Leonard moved and she heard a sickening tarring sound. She took a deep breath and spoke. "Dad."

Church turned to look at her. There was blood splattered over one of his cheeks and a cut above his left eye. He stood up and Alessa could then see that he'd been crouched beside the body of James. At least that threat was gone. Church stood and moved toward her. She moved back a bit when she realized that his shirt, hands, and forearms were all covered in blood. He froze when she moved away and she could see the pained look on his face.

Alessa looked behind him, seeing where a knife lay on the ground beside what she guessed was a human heart. She looked back to Church. "You really took his heart?"

Leonard nodded. "I had to or he would have just come back like the others have been. Though it's not as simple as just taking the heart you. You have to cave a particular symbol on it and then use this water stuff It gave me. Then they won't come back. Really with It would have been straight forward with me from the start, then I wouldn't have had to kill all of them like ten times." Leonard moved to stand before her and then squatted. He smiled a bit when he reached her level. "Are you all right? He didn't hurt you or anything? I hoped I'd get here in time."

Alessa stared at him for a moment, partially not able to believe that he was so casual about having killed someone and partially because she was talking to her father. The man who for years she'd only reamed of speaking to. She flung herself toward him, arms wrapping around his neck in a tight hug. "They didn't hurt me, but you have to save Alex. He cut him up and he said something about a ritual." Church returned the hug.

"Don't you worry, Alessa. He's going to be just fine. We just have to—" Church stopped mid-sentence. His grip loosened and his body grew still.

Alessa pulled a bit away from him and Leonard fell to the side. Alessa moved to his side, realizing that there was a knife sticking out of his back. "Dad?" She looked at his face which was frozen in a look of surprise and pain. She could see black veins that spread from his neck up to his cheeks.

"You really shouldn't let your guard down." Alessa looked up to see a man standing a bit away from her. From his position he must have been the one that had stabbed her father. "Oh well, works for me." He took a step toward Leonard.

Alessa stood up and moved in his way. "Don't touch him. What did you do to him?" She glared at the man, having no idea who he was. "Who are you anyway?"

The man frowned at her. "You're in my way." He frowned at her and she suddenly found his fist flying toward her. She ducked out of the way of the strike but as she tried to move away she tripped over Leonard. Alessa fell to the ground hitting her head on the stone. It left her dazed. She didn't get a chance to recover before something hit her head and knocked her out.


	24. Chapter 23

Redemption Chapter 23

Grif struggled to keep a hold off the dog's fur as the beast ran through the halls and jumped over  
>monsters and debris. They were moving too fast for Grif to really tell where they were going. It was a flurry of metal and lights as the canine knew where it was going without any real sign of how. The canine finally came to a stop and nearly flung them all from its back.<p>

Where they had come to a stop didn't seem right. They were in a small room, just barely tall enough for the canine to stand up without hitting the ceiling. The world around them was the same metal as everywhere else. There was only one door in the room, just a normal door. It was not at all what Grif expected, so out of place with everything else. There was something disturbingly normal about it, like the fact that it was normal meant it held such awful things behind it.

Simmons slid down the side of the canine and helped Alex down, setting the young child onto the floor beside the dog. "Where the hell are we?" He looked around the room and Grif reluctantly slid down beside him.

Grif looked about uneasily, eyes moving to the door and hesitating as he examined it. "I think that is where we're supposed to go." He took a step toward it and stared at the knob. His hand slowly reached out, gripping it. There was something unnaturally cold about the metal, like touching a cold dead body. He gripped the knob and turned it, pulling the door open.

On the other side of the door was a small room that could have been the basement of a home, though it looked right for being in Silent Hill. The walls were all metal, covered in an odd sort of unnatural vine. There was a set of stairs that lead up out of the room but part way up they'd been destroyed, leaving no way out. There was blood on the ground, a great pool of it and a body. The chest was torn open and a human heart lay nearby.

Grif moved over to the body and look down at the face of the man. He didn't recognize the him, but that wasn't a surprise. It could have been any other victim of Silent Hill. Really he was just glad it wasn't Alex lying on the ground, heart torn out. The face was staring, dead eyes seeming to focus on him. Grif took a step back, a bit afraid that it might jump back to life.

Grif looked around and spotted a woman lying on the ground. He took a few steps over and knelt beside her. Grif rolled her over and was relieved to see that it was Alessa. There was blood on her shirt but he didn't see any injury. "I've found Alessa." Grif lifted her up a bit and put a hand on her cheek. "Alessa, wake up, you need to wake up." Grif looked over to Simmons who hadn't come to join him. "Simmons, get your ass over here and help me."

Grif watched as Simmons moved through the room, heading toward some sort of table. Grif examined the table and realized that there was a person tied to the table. Simmons' head shook and Grif scowled, not sure what his husband was doing. He slowly put Alessa down and stood up, moving over to Simmons. He looked to the maroon soldier's face and could see the look of horror, edging on a feeling of nausea. His legs gave out a bit and his hands had to catch him on the table. Grif moved to him, putting his hand on Simmon's shoulder to try to comfort him.

Grif finally looked to the body on the table and now understood what Simmons had seen that had upset him so badly. On the table lay Alex, his body a mess of cuts and blood. Grif's senses were suddenly filled with the horror before him. The blood in his nose, the sight of the red liquid and wounds on his son, and the copper taste that seemed to hang in the air. For a moment it overpowered everything, confusing his senses and then it all came clear. Grif took a few steps back, trying to get the image out of his head but it was still there, the body was still there. He moved back over and put a hand on his son's cheek. "Alex?" The skin was still warm against his hand, giving him hope that Alex was still alive. Grif put his hand on Alex's chest and closed his eyes, focusing fully on his hand. He felt it slightly move up and down and he knew. "Simmons, he's still alive."

Simmons got back to his feet, the words having given him more strength again. "Shit, what do we do, Grif? I have no idea how to take care of these kinds of wounds, we have to save him." Simmons eyes were wide, a look of terror and helplessness on his face. He never was good in medical emergencies. He was the one that had suggested CPR for a bullet wound to the head. Grif wouldn't look to him for medical advice.

"Just calm down, we'll figure something out. I mean we saved Sarge so I'm sure we can save our son." Grif wasn't really sure if he believed his own words, but he had to try something. He wasn't about to just stand by while his son died. Still, he had no idea how to treat these kinds of wounds, or any wounds for that matter.

"Alex?" Alessa's weak voice caught Grif's attention. He looked over his shoulder and frowned as there was now a man kneeling over Alessa. He couldn't see the kneeling man's face but his head was bowed, staring down at Alessa. His hands were gently touching her cheek and Grif could see that her eyes were open. At first Grif thought that the man was Church, but there was a look of disappointment on her face, not something he would ever see if she was looking at Church.

The man finally raised his head and his eyes met Grif's. This man looked like Alex, but he wasn't. Grif knew his son and this man was not his son, not the adult version of his child who he'd walked to school when he was young, who he had cleaned up several times after having been knocked down by other kids at school, or he'd sat at the kitchen table with pretending he could actually help him with math homework. This man was someone that Grif had never met, just wearing his son's face.

The man turned back to Alessa and spoke quietly. "It will be all right, Alessa, just get up when you can." The man stood up and moved over toward Grif and Simmons. He moved around them to the other side of the table and looked down at Alex on the table. He frowned reaching out, his hand hovering over the other man, not touching him as though repelled by some unseen force. "Damn, he finished the ritual." Another look crossed his face, one that seemed a bit relieved, almost happy. "Always has my back."

There was movement behind him and Grif looked over his shoulder at Alessa got to her feet. Grif watched in confusion as she moved around the table to stand beside the other Alex. He looked at her and there seemed to be an understanding. "You're him?" Alessa asked. The man nodded his head and turned his gaze back to Alex. "Will he be all right?"

"You doubt your father?" The question was surprised, the idea of Alessa doubting her father being rather odd for her. The man turned his attention to the room around them and then looked back to Alessa. "He is fine; he just needs to be taken to see It. Where is Leonard?"

Alessa shook her head. "I don't know. He was here when he saved us form him." She pointed toward the dead body on the ground. "Then some other guy showed up and attacked him. He knocked me out but I didn't see where my father went."

The other man shook his head, a worried look on his face. "Then they have him, they are the only ones that could take him or cause him to leave here. I'm sure he planned on taking Alex to It so he wouldn't have left." He put his hands on the table leaning forward a bit. "I have to go after him. I can't let them keep Leonard for any amount of time, they'll ruin everything."

"What about our son?" Grif asked, frowning across the table at the man. "He needs help and we can't leave him like this. You have to do something?" Grif narrowed his gaze, ready to argue his point.

The man ran a hand over his hair and he closed his eyes. "Just let me think. I have to save Leonard, that's not negotiable, that is the will I must follow." He opened his eyes and looked to Alex. His eyes grew a bit wider and looked across the table at the rest of them. "I have to go but you don't. You can take him to It in order to get him healed. I have to stop what might happen but I cannot let this form die because of the fault of others." The man stared back down at the table, and then looked to Alessa. "I'll open a passage for you that will lead directly to It. You just have to take him there and It will take care of the damage, if Leonard paid tribute or whatever the hell it wants from him." There was anger in his voice, that of a man who knew what sort of tribute It wanted from people.

"Now wait just a moment, I can't just leave you to go find my father on your own. I still need to find my daughter and wherever my father is she'll probably be. It is the same people that took her that took him, isn't it?" Alessa looked down to Alex on the table. "He would never forgive me if I abandoned saving our daughter to save him."

"It is the same people but he needs to be taken to see It and be healed. If you don't hurry and they get what they want then there will be no way to save him." The man frowned at Alessa, agitation creeping into his gaze and voice. "I can protect your daughter, she will be safe. You must save him."

"We can take him," Simmons cut in. Grif looked at him, a look of surprise on his face. "Just open a passage for us and we'll take him. If you take Alessa with you she can grab Alana and run with her while you do whatever the hell you have to in order to save Church or whatever. We'll take care of our son." Grif smiled a bit at him, happy to see Simmons taking some charge in making a choice.

The man thought about it and nodded. "All right, though if the child isn't there I want you to just run. I can't fight them if you're there, you'll only be a liability." The man looked across the table at Grif and Simmons. "I'll open a path for you."

"Just a moment," Grif cut into the conversation. "Do you know what's going on?"

The man shrugged his shoulders. "I sort of do. I know what I need to know and nothing more. Anything else is information that's not considered something I need to have. I just do what I'm told really." The man looked down to the young version of Alex who was standing beside Grif, gripping the orange soldier's pant leg. "I don't worry about those sort of things. I know what I'm fighting for so I do whatever is asked."

"Do you know who they are? Who is it that broke into our lives, stole Alana, and forced us back to this fucked up town?" Grif looked down to his son on the table. "Who did this to my child?"

The man stared across the table at Grif and then nodded a bit. "If you want to know who injured…Alex," he looked down toward the unconscious man. "It was likely the man behind you, the body on the ground that, as he is fully dead, was likely killed by Leonard. To the question of who took the child they are the blind, those that see only what they want. They have a twisted thought in their minds and they have taken action on those thoughts." The man shrugged a bit. "I don't really understand it, only that Leonard says they cannot be allowed to complete their plan so I can't allow it."

Grif narrowed his gaze at the man, trying to understand his words. He finally sighed, taking a step back away from the table. "I guess that's the best answer I'm going to get. Just one more question. Whatever is waiting for you, the ones that have Church: can you beat them? Are the monsters with or against you?"

"The monsters don't take a side," the man explained. "They attack whatever they come across. At least the small ones do. The big ones, the ones that there are usually only one usually have a target, but they'll attack anyone after they've gotten their target. As for those that I will be facing, I can handle them enough that I can do what must be done. My death is not important, only that they are stopped." The man reached to his belt and pulled out a knife. He moved around the table, cutting the ropes that tied Alex down. He then moved across the room to a part of the wall and stabbed forward with the blade. It slid into the metal and he pulled it back toward him, the metal moving with the knife as he pulled it back.

The door opened up to a stone hallway, so different from the metal of the room they were currently in. The light in the hallway was a soft blue, as though the man had just opened a door from the horrible world brought on by the sirens and the way the world usually was. Grif didn't really care what it looked like. He picked Alex up, putting it son on his back and preparing to move. He looked down at the young Alex. "You're coming with us, right?" The child nodded.

Alessa grabbed Grif's upper arm. "Please, make sure he's all right. If everything goes to hell and I can't find Alana I at least need to know that not all my family is lost."

Grif nodded, shifting Alex a bit on his back to be more comfortable. "I'm not about to let him die. Just remember what you used to say about your mother, about how alone she seemed. Remember that a home needs more than one survivor to be happy."

Alessa nodded and Grif hoped she would actually listen. He knew how important his family was to Alex, and he didn't want his son to lose all that he cared about. The other man moved to another wall and put his hand on the wall. He pushed forward and the metal swung open. Alessa moved to follow him and Grif turned toward his own door, moving through and into the hallway.


	25. Chapter 24

Redemption Chapter 24

Alana moved through the police station carefully. She moved into an office and started to search. There was a desk and some chairs, though one of them was broken and the other was tripped on the side. She moved around the desk, wondering where the chair was for the officer that would have used the desk. She started to look through the drawers as she had with the last two offices.

There were random pieces of paper about, some of them blank report files while some where notes or manuals. She didn't bother with any of them. None of this was useful, and none of it helped her. She had thought of calling out for a cop but had realized that if there were something here, anything that wasn't friendly, it would alert them to her presence. Instead she was content to just search on her own and not be noticed if she didn't need to.

Alana left the office and moved back into the main hallway. She turned the way she'd been heading before and started to walk. She stopped at a bulletin board, looking over the papers. There was a poster for recruitment into the UNSC and another that advertised what seemed to be a mercenary program for soldiers. She frowned at a set of wanted posters that hung on the board. There was a picture of a woman with blond hair. She looked young, only in her teens, and innocent. The second was what looked to be a younger version of her father. His features were serious and the only thing different about him from her father was his age. The last of the posters was of her grandfather. In the picture he looked bored, like he was just annoyed that he had to sit still for the moment to have his picture taken.

Alana tore down the picture of her father and grandfather. Her family was not criminals, not people to be wanted by the police. Her father, her grandfather, they were good people. She tore up the posters letting the scraps fall to the ground. She paused at the picture of the teenage girl. Something about this poster annoyed her as well. She pulled it down, just letting it fall to the ground, not tearing it apart as she had with the others. With the space on the board now open she saw a symbol under the papers. She examined it, seeing the blue and red symbol that was the same as her mother had been following. She'd never seen anything like it and it made her feel oddly uneasy. She looked at the symbols that circled the main symbol and furrowed her brow, not understanding what they all meant.

Alana decided not to waste her time on trying to figure it out. She looked over the rest of the posters but they weren't all that interesting. A missing dog, a poster about keeping your things in sight, and a sheet for people to sign up for a local sports team. There wasn't any useful information so she turned her attention back to finding something useful.

Alana moved down the hallway to hallway that branched off. She turned down it and glanced at the cells that lined the walls. There seemed like a lot of them for how small the town was. Alana moved to the first cell, examining the contents. There was a small metal toilet to one side and a set of bunk-beds against the wall without sheets. The mattresses looked thin and worn, a few holes big enough for her to see the springs inside. Alana moved on to the next one, searching two more before she stopped dead in her tracks.

Ahead of her there was something that at first she couldn't make out. She could see what looked to be cloth that was poking through the bars of the cell but she couldn't make out much more. Alana took a few steps forward and into the flickering light of the florescent bulb above. She moved to stand before whatever the thing was though it took her a moment to make sense in her mind. She could see that what was in the cell was tightly held to the bars by barbed wire. The white cloth was partially covered in a thick coating of blood that made it a dark red, almost black. From the shape it looked to be a body, though from the way the cloth was torn and wrapped up around the body it was hard to tell. The only thing that made her sure it was a person was the matted black hair that was sticking every which way on the top of the body.

Alana stared at the body, moving a bit away from it. The flickering light made it look like the body was moving, though she guessed it was really just her imagination. She frowned as she realized something was wrong. This body didn't smell like the death she'd smelled before. The bodies in the Church had been freshly killed, smelled like blood and fluids. This body didn't have the same smell. In fact, it didn't have any smell at all. She took a step toward it and against her better judgment took a deep breath through her nose. The only thing she smelled was the dingy air around her. She scowled and took a step back, shaking her head. She was wasting time, staring at dead bodies. There were plenty of those that were hanging around here.

Alana continued her way down the cell block, glancing into the next set of cells. These were empty like the earlier ones. She frowned, a bit annoyed that she hadn't found anything useful. So far it was looking like heading to the police station hadn't done her any good, other than avoiding the tank that had been following her.

The thought of the tank made her move her hand instinctively to the grip of the sword. When she'd first entered the station she'd found one of the unused police belts and buckled it on. The sword was now loosely hanging from one of the slots it had fit into. It wasn't the best situation but it was better than having to hold it constantly. She hoped she wouldn't need it so it didn't matter where she kept it but maybe when she found her grandfather he could use it.

Alana moved to continue down the line of cells but stopped as the lights flickered and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. The sound started far away and came rushing toward her like a heard of bulls ready to stomp her to dust. It echoed through the empty halls until it washed over her and a chill ran up her spine. It echoed in her head the way it had in that little room. No, she shouldn't be afraid. The sirens last time had signaled her father's arrival, but that had gone all wrong. Her father was dead now and she had no idea what this siren might mean this time.

The lights above flickered and shut off, leaving Alana in complete darkness. She held her breath, trying to figure out what to do. She inched to the side, hand reaching out for the wall. It took a few seconds but her hand finally found the wall but something was wrong. There wasn't stone but rather metal under her hand. Alana pulled her hand back, her breath quickening and her eyes searching for anything she could actually see.

The lights above flickered on. The light didn't reach anywhere, just a strip of light above her that seemed to be swallowed up by the darkness around her. It came on fully and the light finally penetrated the darkness, spreading out like a fog over a lake. Alana watched as the world around her was reviled, not the same as it had been before the darkness. The walls were a rusted metal grating and far back behind them she could see sources of light that tinted the world red.

She looked to the cells beside her and they too had changed. The bars of one seemed to be made of flesh and she could see teeth and finger nails sticking out in places. She took a step back from it, not wanting to understand what she was looking at. She turned to the cell on her other side and found that the bars were still made of metal, but they were think and covered with spikes that dripped with blood. She didn't know how this all had changed in such a short time. What had happened when the darkness arrived?

Alana's thoughts were cut short as a groan echoed from down the hall, the way she'd come. She turned toward the sound and searched all she could see for whatever had made the sound. Alana edged forward a bit, searching for whatever it might have been. She examined the cell on one side and the bars were cracked and rusted away. On the other side the cell had changed quite a bit. The bars were now made of limbs which had fused together, hands and feet still visible poking out. Where the door usually would have been there was a large hole in what looked like a tarp with spikes along the inside of the hole. She furrowed her brow as she tried to figure out what was wrong. Something was missing, but what? She stopped moving as she realized that it wasn't a tarp. She could see veins along the tarp and she could almost see it move as blood was pumped through it. She could now see flesh around the spikes which were actually fangs.

Alana took deep breaths, trying to clear her thoughts. There was no way that it was flesh, it couldn't be. Though if it was it wouldn't be the weirdest thing. Hell, the arms and legs that made up the cell's bars were weirder, but the idea that it was alive, blood flowing through it, somehow made her sicker. She froze as he realized that she could see something through the hole. It slowly moved forward and Alana watched as the figure stumbled forward.

She realized that it was what had been missing. The bloody cloth swung with its movements, matching the sway of its hair. She could see now fully what the thing was. He still couldn't see its face or head, just matted bloody hair. The cloth that the body was wrapped in was clear now to be a strait jacket. The buckles were rusted and she could see that the fabric was frayed on the ends. Barbed wire was wrapped around its sleeves, cutting into the fabric and clinking together every once in a while when the sleeves swayed a bit too much. It wore tattered blue pants that were covered in holes and tares.

The thing moved toward Alana and she took a step back. It groaned and continued to move forward. Alana took a step back each time it neared her. She didn't know what to do. "It's going to kill you," a voice whispered in her ear. Alana didn't recognize the voice and when she turned around to see who it was she found nothing. The only thing around here were small lights. Each one a different color, hanging in the air like fireflies on a dark night.

There was a groan close to her and Alana turned back to see that the strait jacket figure had reached her. It swung its arms at her but Alana ducked down. She didn't know how close the strike had been but she didn't care. She only cared that it hadn't hit her. Alana fell back, scrambling to her feet and making and putting some distance between herself and the thing.

She watched the monster as it took it a moment to realize that she wasn't there. So maybe it had limited vision and she could use that to her advantage. "Why are you even trying?" A new voice whispered in her ear. "You couldn't save your father, of course you can't save yourself." Once more when Alana looked for the source of the voice there was nothing.

She didn't even know that the monster had come up on her, until its sleeve wrapped around her arm. She spun around, crying out in pain as the barbed wire bit into her skin. She was face to face with the monster, able to hear its deep raspy breath. Alana did the only thing she could think of, she struck out. Her hand hit at what was the monster's head and she hit something, so at least she knew it wasn't all hair. Its hair parted and Alana got a look at its face. She could see one ice blue eye, pupil fully dilated. Its skin was a sickly gray and she could see lines of blue light along the flesh that reminded her of a circuit, or the pattern she'd seen on an AI once before. Crisp straight lines with sharp turns. The teen in its mouth weren't human, rather fangs that point in all different directions.

Alana felt panic as she looked at its face for just a second before the hair slid back into place, hiding it away. Alana reached for the sword at her hip and tried to pull it free. It snagged and she cursed as the monster tried to pull her closer. She didn't know how the cloth was so tightly wrapped around her arm but it felt like something inside of it was forcing the cloth tighter against her skin, digging the barbed wire in deeper. Finally the sword came free and she pulled it out. As it moved out it cut into the side of the sleeve and suddenly the cloth around her arm went slack and pulled away. She pulled her arm back, away from the thing and held the sword unsteadily with her uninjured arm. The blade was heavier than was expected and hard to handle.

Alana's gaze looked down to where she'd cut the sleeve and was surprised to see it bleeding like a flesh wound. She realized that without both arms she wouldn't be able to do much of anything against the monster. She turned and ran for it, just trying to find any way to lose the monster. She made several turns before she came to a dead end. The only thing she could see was a door so she did the only thing she could think of. She sped up and slammed her shoulder against it.

She hit the door hard and it easily came open, easier than she expected. She'd put too much force into it and it caused her to go crashing to the floor. The sword went flying from her hand and she didn't know what was going on until she hit the ground and felt the stone slam against her head. The sword slid across the ground and Alana groaned. She lifted her head, looking around the area. Her head hurt but it was only pain, hopefully no injury.

The room around her was stone, untouched by whatever the darkness had done. Still, the sight before her was more horrifying than anything she'd seen in the other area. On the other side of the room there was a man hanging, crucified on what looked to be a wooden tabletop, though there was something carved into it behind him. The man's body was cut up but Alana's mind didn't want to make sense of the damage and it looked like just a mess of blood to her. The man's head slowly lifted and she was left staring into a scared blue eye. "Grandpa?" Alana whispered.


	26. Chapter 25

Redemption chapter 25

Alessa just kept her eyes on the man walking before her. She knew this place liked to play tricks and if she got separated from him she'd never find her daughter. Maybe she should have gone with Grif and Simmons, but it was too late to turn back. If following this man would help her find her child she'd risk this false Alex leading her into a trap. She had a sort of automatic trust toward this man that looked like her husband though she tried to keep in mind that it could all be an illusion.

"You should have gone with the others." Alessa looked over her shoulder, searching for the source of the voice but found nothing. There was just a long empty hallway.

"Stupid girl, you actually trusted me. You actually think I'm taking you to their daughter." For a moment Alessa didn't know the source of the voice and then realized it was Alex's voice.

Alessa grabbed the man's arm and he spun around to face her. "What did you just say?" she demanded.

Alex furrowed his brow. "I didn't say anything," he answered. "I've just been walking."

"No, I just heard you. You said something. What was it?" she demanded. Alex took a step back and held his hands up. "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying. I didn't say a word." He suddenly spun around and cursed. His gaze turned up, toward the ceiling. Alessa looked up as well and saw the lights hanging above them. "Damn little pests."

"What are they?" Alessa asked, reaching out toward them. They defended a bit toward her and Alex forced her to pull her hand back. "What?"

"Leonard calls them fragments," Alex explained. "Unless you see my mouth moving, saying words, don't listen to anything you hear. These things are meant to pray on our fears. If they touch you you can't get them off and they'll just keep talking to you. Everything they say is a lie, it's just what you fear," he advised.

"Why does he call them fragments? They're just lights, not really fragments of something." Alessa moved away from one that was drifting down.

"I don't know. They weren't made for me, they were made for him. Therefor he got to name them." Alex reached out for her hand. "Let's keep moving."

Alessa didn't take his hand, just moving forward. He let his hand fall and they continued down the hallway. Alex only brought them to a stop when he spotted an odd symbol on the wall. He reached out and touched the symbol, closing his eyes. Alessa just watched, not understanding what he was doing. "What's that?" She finally asked.

"It is a mark left by Leonard. It is a bad sign. He shouldn't be able to do things like this." Alex turned away from the symbol. "We need to hurry." He moved off down the hallway a bit faster than before. Alessa had to hurry to catch up with him.

Soon the light around them faded and they descended into darkness. She felt Alex take her hand and allowed it. His hands were cold and it left Alessa more worried then reassured by his presence. She just kept reminding herself that he seemed to have a connection with her father and even if she had doubts about this Alex she trusted her father. Alex suddenly stopped and Alessa nearly ran into the back of him.

"What is it?" Alessa asked, unable to see anything. She reached out and found a stone wall, feeling an odd grove in the wall, and on one side of her and nothing within reach.

"There's a door," Alex answered. "Move back." Alessa did as he instructed and his hand slipped from hers. She may not have been comforted by him but she was more afraid without a connection in the dark to her protector. She could hear wood splintering as something hit it. It continued for a couple seconds before a hand landed in her shoulder. She jumped a bit. "It's just me," Alex assured her. "I don't know what's on the other side, be ready." With that is hand moved from her shoulder and a second later she heard him ram the door. She stood still as he hit it three more times before he door gave to his force, bursting open.

Red light flooded the hallway and Alessa could see where they had been. The hallway they had been in was large enough for three people to walk side by side and at least ten feet high, all around them the wall was covered in deep marks like something had scratched up the walls. The for ahead of them had been barred closed and she couldn't see past Alex ahead of her. He stood in the doorway, axe in hand, ready to strike.

Alex charged forward and Alessa moved forward, watching as he charged another man. She recognized him as the man who had attacked her father. The man raised a led pipe to try to protect himself from Alex's axe swings. She moved into the room watching as the two men fight. Alex seemed proficient with the axe but the other man was holding his own with his pipe. There were others in the room that were watching the fight but made no move to intervene. There were a couple men but before them stood a woman who looked familiar to Alessa. She almost reminded her of her mother. The woman watched the fight with indifference, apparently not caring who won or if either of them died.

"Dad?" Alessa's turned toward the voice, feeling hope. She felt a sort of relief as she spotted Alana but a fear at the same time that she was here, in danger. Alana was watching Alex and the other man fight and she thought he was the same man as her father. Alessa moved across the room and to her daughter." Mom, what's going on? I don't understand." As soon as Alessa was close enough Alana grabbed onto her mother's shirt. "Dad died, I saw it. I saw them kill him." Alana was becoming more and more frantic as she spoke.

"What?" Alessa didn't know what her daughter was talking about. "That's not your father, he just looks like him. Your grandfathers are taking your father to be healed, he's not dead," she tried to explain. She hugged her daughter to her chest, trying to calm her down.

Alana clung to her mother. "Mom, what have they done to grandpa?" She lifted her head and Alessa looked down at her, confused. Alana pointed across the room and Alessa turned to look at what she was indicating. She held Alana closer as her mind finally made sense of what it was seeing. She first realized that it was a person, and that person was still alive. Blood drips from open wounds and after a moment she finally was able to identify the man. Alessa froze, her heart beating fast and she felt a bit sick. It was her father, hanging from some structure, bleeding.

Alessa's attention was drawn away from her father as an axe hit the floor not far from them. She turned to look to Alex who had lost his grip on the weapon and was now holding onto the other man's lead pipe, trying to force him back. The other man lost his footing and Alex used it as a change to do some damage. He pushed forward and the two men fell to the ground, Alex pinning the man to the ground. Alex got the better grip on the pipe for a moment and he pushed it down, pinning it against the other man's throat, trying to strangle him. His opponent was pushing back, keeping the pipe from pressing enough on his throat to cut off the air.

"Enough of this, you are wasting time. God must be forged." The woman stepped toward them, pulling a combat knife from her belt. Alex looked over his shoulder as she moved toward him but before he could do anything she had driven the knife into his side. Alex rolled over and the woman pulled her knife free from his flesh. "That's how you take care of an enemy. Use a weapon with an actual blade." Alex tried to grab at him but the woman grabbed at his hair and she pulled his head up a bit. The woman swung her knife, cutting through his throat, spilling his blood onto the floor. Alex's hand went to his throat and tried to stop the blood but the damage was done. Alex fell to the side and lay on the floor, struggling to keep his blood in his body.

"Alex!" Alessa felt fear and in that moment she forgot that he wasn't her husband, was some other man. He was struggling to take in breath and his blood was starting to pool on the floor. Alessa gripped Alana a bit tighter, trying to shield her from the sight.

The woman stood over Alex and just watched him die. "You should be happy. You'll get to see the glory of God. See the world reborn in a more merciful way then the demon that you've been worshiping." She knelt down and wiped the blood on Alex's jacket before she stood up again.

"Idiot," Alex choked out. "God has no glory, or mercy." He coughed and move blood spilled forth. "God only brings Hell."

The woman kicked him and Alex collapsed to the floor. "Quiet! You have no idea what God is like. God will bring salvation; chase away the demon that you worship." Alessa froze as the woman turned to her. "Now to take care of these two. The girl has no purpose anymore and the child has no reason to be saved."

Alessa held Alana tighter as the woman neared. The woman pulled raised her knife and Alessa buried her head against Alana's hair. "Dad!" The blow didn't strike them. Alessa lifted her head and looked up at the woman. She was staring up and Alessa looked up as well. Something hit her cheek and Alessa reached up, rubbing the drop away. When she looked at her finger the liquid was red. Another drop hit her and steadily the fall of the liquid started to increase.

The dripping became rain and Alessa couldn't figure out where it was coming from. The water was starting to gather on the ground around them. Alessa stood up, pulling Alana up with her. The liquid that was covering them was thick and warm, matting in her hair and soaking their clothing. The hostile woman cursed and moved a bit away from them. "What is this?"

There was movement to Alessa's side and she looked over to see that Alex's body had vanished under the surface, but there was a lot of movement of the liquid in that area. An arm suddenly shot up, thickly coated with what Alessa was now sure was blood. A mass rose out of the blood, though it was too coated with the liquid for her to properly identify it. The figure stopped and the blood rain stopped, the level of blood on the floor starting to lower as if a drain plug had been pulled and finally it could flow away.

Blood flowed off of rusting the angled rusty helmet. Pale white skin appeared as the red liquid slowly ran down the figure's body. Bloody pants hung loosely from the person's hips. Alessa reconsidered calling it a human as she realized that there was something on its back, a pair of somethings. Bat-like wings spread a bit to stretch the stitched together flesh of the wingsails. On its arms were a monstrous pair of gauntlets that covered the back side of the creature's forearms and its hands. It looked like plates of metal overlaid, stabbed into the sides of the arm to hold them in place. They went from the thing's elbows down to its wrists. The gloves reminded Alessa of old knight's gauntlets. The fingers were long and sharp, like daggers attached to the monster's digits.

The monster turned its great pyramid head toward the woman and it flexed its fingers. The woman turned toward the other man in the room. "Kill it," she ordered.

"What?" The man looked between the woman and the monster. "How the hell am I supposed to kill it? I've never even seen anything like it." He took a step back from the thing. "Aren't you supposed to be the trained soldier?"

"You are absolutely worthless, Henry. Just shoot it," the woman urged.

Henry reached for a gun on his hip and the monster turned toward him. The monster took a step forward, its foot making a sick squish as it touched the bloody floor. The room around them rumbled and Alessa realized the sound was coming from the creature, it was growling. Henry fired but the shots ricochet off the metal helmet. One shot hit the creature's shoulder but it didn't seem to even notice. It just walked right up to him and the man tried to run away but the creature's hand struck out. It's long fingers stabbed into Henry's shoulder and kept him from moving away. The creature's second arm moved out, fingers stabbing through Henry's chest. The man screamed in pain, blood dripping from the wounds. The creature pulled it's fingers from Henry's chest and blood flowered faster from his chest.

The creature shook his hand and Henry slid off, crumbling to the ground. It then turned, facing away from Alessa and facing Church. Alana pushed herself out of her mother's arms. "Stay away from him!"

The creature stopped and turned back toward Alana. Alessa moved between her daughter and the thing. It didn't move toward them though, rather back to Church. It moved over toward the man but stopped a few feet away. It reached out and the fingers started to bleed and the metal cracked. It withdrew its hand and growled in anger. It took a step forward but the same thing happened to its metal helmet. The creature stepped back and let out a loud roar.

"You can't touch him, unholy monstrosity," the woman stated. She took a step toward the monster and raised her knife. "You are too late to stop it. I will have what I desire and God will be born."

There was movement and Alessa's attention turned to Church. His head slowly rose and she could see that there was blood caked to his face where it had run down his face. "That's enough, Carolina. Put an end to this." His voice was strained and followed by a cough, new blood coating his lips.

"No, this has to happen," Carolina argued. "God must be born. I have done the will of what is meant to be."

"The past is the past, it's time to let it go," Church countered. His eyes suddenly widened and his hands clenched. Church's head fell back and he screamed in pain. Invisible blades cut along his skin, fresh blood pouring forth and dripping down to the floor below.

A smile spread over Carolina's face and she took another step forward. "Yes, the time has come. God shall be born!"


	27. Chapter 26

Redemption Chapter 26

Grif shifted the weight on his back, trying to ease the strain on his legs. He was walking blindly, no source of light in the hallway and he couldn't really reach out to feel the wall. He was just trusting that he wouldn't run into anything. His steps echoed on the stone floor, mixing with the steps of his companions. Grif could feel the child's hand gripping his shirt to insure that they weren't separated.

"Dexter, let me take him," Simmons offered. "You don't have to carry him alone. I mean a man in your shape I'm surprised that you could carry him for even a yard."

"I'm not in the mood to be insulted, Dick. Just make sure the kid is safe. We already know that I'm not really a fighter." Grif grunted and shifted Alex again on his back. He could feel blood soaking into his shirt from the wounds on his son's chest.

"Do you have to be stubborn about everything?" Simmons snapped. "Do I have to remind you again that we're partners? I know Sarge didn't teach us well but you know we should be sharing the effort."

Grif stopped and realized exactly how heavy his breathing was. He didn't want to hand Alex over. He wanted to be sure that he made it all the way to whatever was going to save him. He sighed and nodded before remembering Simmons couldn't see him. "Fine, you can carry him for a while." He turned to his side. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here," Simmons answered. A hand rested on Grif's chest and felt around a bit. "Good, that's you."

"Who did you expect it to be?" Grif asked as he felt Simmons feel up his arm until he reached Alex. It was a bit awkward but Grif felt the weight lifted from his back. His shoulders ached and he was sure his back would hurt for weeks to come.

"When we get back we're going to have a talk with Alessa about putting him on a diet," Simmons grunted.

"First we make sure he lives." Grif held out his hand. "Alex, take my hand so you don't get separated." Grif was surprised when a small hand gripped his right away. He didn't know how the kid could have found his so easily. Grif decided it wasn't important and instead just gripped the child's hand, leading him forward.

Grif didn't have a way to track the time, not that he felt it mattered. This place never seemed to run linear, have a steady flow of time. The only thing that made him sure they were moving forward was that the stone changed to metal under his feet.

Grif was just starting to think the hallway went on forever when he felt intense heat wash over his skin. He quickly took a step back and pushed the child and Simmons back, away from the danger. It was nothing but black ahead of him so he was t sure what it was that had burned him. He squinted, trying to see if there was any indication of a form but there was nothing. Grif jumped back a bit as two red eyes appeared. They moved closer and crimson light spilled into the hallway. There was an ever shifting outline to the creature before him, like running water. As his eyes readjusted to the light Grif could see more of the creature. It wasn't water but rather fire, a black demonic fire that seemed impossible. Inside the fire was a strange skeleton. The skull was clearly feline and the rest of the body seemed to be made up of a collection of human and feline bones, some of them broken or partially formed. The creature opened its jaws, showing three rows of sharp teeth on the bottom and two on the top. It leaned forward and Grif could feel the heat of the fire on his face.

"Don't hurt them," the child Alex spoke up. To Grif's relief the creature stopped and pulled away. "They've come to see It."

Nothing happened right away, the fire cat standing in the doorway. Finally it turned and moved out of the way. It's legs didn't move, rather the fire below it rolled over the ground and it moved along the fire. With it gone they moved forward into the large room ahead. It was a wide expansive room and Grif wished the monster had stayed in their way.

The floor was littered with bodies, some of them looked recent while others were torn apart. Grif pulled the young Alex closer to him protectively. There were half a dozen of the fire felines around, stooped over bodies. They were tearing into the flesh with teeth and claws. He could see things move under the grate floor, clinging to the metal as they hungrily tried to drink up every drop of fresh blood. There were human-like figures moving slowly through the room. They were bandaged all over, metal plates looked like they'd been welded to human flesh. The bandages were worn and in places he could see that they had fallen away, revealing a metal under neath that reminded him of their old armor from Blood Gulch. The metal carried in colors from purple and green, gray and yellow, to white and brown. Some had blades for hands while others had a series of finger-like blades.

Grif's attention turned toward the ceiling high above, marveling at the size of it. Still up above there was no respite from the horror. There was a man hanging high above, arms outstretched to his sides, chains suspending him above. The chains wound around the man's arms, small hooks having dug into the flesh to keep the chains from slipping. Grif could see where flesh had been torn away though he couldn't tell by what. On the stone walls around the man were carvings of things Grif didn't understand. He could swear that he could make out elaborate symbols but he didn't recognize any of them.

The child's hand slipped from Grif's and the looked down in time to see the little boy running through the bodies and toward a structure in the middle of the room. "Be careful," Grif warned as he moved after the boy. He payed no attention to the creatures as me moved past them. The young Alex stood only feet away from the structure and pointed at it. "Is that what we came for?" The child nodded.

The structure want all that impressive to Grif. All he could really see of it was torn, dingy, and burnt red fabric. He took a few steps forward and peeked in through one of the holes and wasn't sure what he was looking at. It seemed human but there was something that just felt unnatural about the figure he saw. Grif moved to one corner of the structure and grabbed the fabric. He pulled it away and it slid along a rod at the top of the structure. Now he could fully see what he'd glimpsed through the hole. It was a large bed, the sheets just as torn and dirty as the curtains. On the bed sat a woman who seemed unnaturally thin. Grif could see bone under her skin and the woman's hair was thin and faded. At one time it would have been a beautiful orange and likely the dress she wore was pristine and spotless but it was all now dirty and falling apart. The woman patted the bed.

Simmons stepped forward and lay Alex down on the bed. "We need you to save our son," he explained. "Can you save his life?"

The woman looked to Simmons and then to Grif. Her gaze turned to Alex before she spoke. "Come to me, child." Grif watched as the young Alex moved over to her. Without looking at the child she reached our and placed a hand on his head. She places a hand on Alex's chest and closed her eyes. "Tell me why I should save him?"

Simmons was stunned silent by the question but Grif was angered. "What kind of a question is that? He's our son and we were told you could save him."

"I can save him, but that is not the question. The question is why should I. I have limited reserves of strength. Why should I weaken myself to save him?" The woman opened her eyes, staring at Alex's pale face.

Grif considered the question. He wasn't sure what to tell the woman to convince her. He decided to settle on the only thing that came to mind. "Because I love him, Simmons loves him, Alessa loves him, and Alana. Is that not enough people wanting him to live so save him?"

The woman looked up to Grif and leaned toward him. "And what if I wanted something in exchange? What if I wanted your life for his?"

"Then take it," Grif answered. "Take it and save him."

The woman pulled away from him and placed both of her hands on Alex's cheeks. "He won't be the same, not exactly. I can't undo what they did to him." Her eyes closed again.

"But he'll be alive?" Grif asked. The woman nodded. "Then save him, whatever the cost."

"This will take some time," the woman warned. "You have questions. They always do." She looked to Grif and Simmons. "I will allow you answers if answering suits me."

"Then can you tell us what's going on? Why did they take our granddaughter?" Simmons asked.

"They have no interest in the child's child. She was necessary to daw the soul to the surface," the woman answered. Her gaze turned fully to Grif. "Ask what puzzles you."

Grif looked to Alex and then to the child. "How are there three of our son?"

The woman shifted her hands and Alex's eyes slowly opened. "A guardian was requested, a deal was made, and your son was born."

The words meant nothing to Grif, not understanding what she was talking about at all. He turned his attention to His son. "Alex, are you all right?"

Alex nodded his head, taking deep breaths. "I'm all right, dad. Where's Alessa?" He tried to sit up but the woman held him in place.

"She went off with another you, finding Alana," Simmons answered. "We came here to make sure you survived your injuries."

Alex took in the information and tried to sit up again. Once more the woman held him in place. "I need to go to her. I have to protect her. That's my purpose."

"She is in no danger, and your healing is not finished," the woman countered. "I must concentrate on the healing. Distract them," she instructed.

Alex closed his eyes a bit as the woman closed her eyes. "I don't know how to distract you," he admitted. "What were you talking about before I woke up?"

"She was explaining to us how there's more than one of you," Grif answered, reaching over and taking his son's hand in his. "Though what she said made no sense. I don't think anything here is allowed to just say things plainly."

"It's not that complicated," Alex said, taking a deep breath. "A guardian was needed, Alex knew Church, he saw a chance, and a deal was made." Grif furrowed his brow, still not understanding. "I have to protect Alessa, it is why I exist. I wasn't supposed to fall in love with her or marry her, just protect her." Alex closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. Grif saw one of cuts along his chest start to close up."

"I read a journal, by a guy named Alex, who…he wasn't you. The things in it about his parents, his family. I don't know who he was but he wasn't you." Grif squeezed his son's hand lightly.

"That's the other one. That's who I would have been without you two." Alex gently returned the squeeze. "You guys are my Harry Mason."

"I still don't understand and I don't know who Harry Mason is but I'm going to just assume that what you just said is good so I'm glad we could be your Harry Mason." Grif looked toward the child. "Though that still doesn't explain him."

Alex opened his eyes and looked at the child for a moment before closing his eyes again. "A tree needs a trunk, a base for the branches to split off from. At one point both the other and I were both that child. The difference is how we were raised, the love our parents showed, our friends, and the peace in our lives." The woman removed her hands from Alex's face and he sat up. "What should I do now?"

"If you have not been given instructions then you have nothing to do. I have done the only thing possible to stop what must not happen." The woman folded her hands on her lap. "The only thing left is to wait."

Grif sighed, not exactly happy. His gaze turned out toward the creatures as he heard a loud snap. One of the fire creatures had broken through a bone and was now ripping the flesh from the body, trying to eat it but it was just falling through it as the creature had no actual throat for it to go down. He looked over to a second one and frowned as he noticed something. "Why are they all different?" He looked to Alex and he seemed confused. "Those fire things, they all look a bit different. That one has very little bone, that one has a bit more, and that one seems to have a bit of muscle." He pointed out three of the creatures that all looked very different.

"They are changing, not of my designed," the woman spoke up. "There is a struggle happening, one that is shifting control. There is a fight between two unwilling forces, made to clash by those that know nothing of what they deal with. They see the soul as the answer to replacing me, thinking they will get a better world, the things they desire. I am slowly losing control over the design of my own world as they press forward with their foolish plans. Although I do admire the creations they are not my own." She looked out to the monsters. "I can appreciate the work of others, though."

"If they aren't your creations then who's are they?" Grif asked. His attention was turned away when he heard the sound of rusty metal moving. He watched as a human hand moved up to the edge and was surprised as Tex pulled herself up and out of the hole in the grate. She sat on the edge of the grate for a moment to catch her breath. "Tex?"

The woman turned toward Grif as he spoke. She seemed surprised to see him and Simmons. "You two aren't dead yet?" She pulled herself all the way up and moved away from the opening and toward the group. "Are you sure this thing will work?" She held up what looked to be a knife. As she moved closer Grif could see the blade better and could tell that the blade was a dark black and the handle was an odd blue stone with ornate carvings on it.

"It will work," the woman assured her. "You must move now, before they complete the ritual." She looked out toward the monsters. Grif looked as well and could see that the monsters were changing before his eyes. He could see bone and muscles appear in the fire creatures and more and more armor was appearing on the bandaged figures. "There is no time to waste."

"But I don't know how to get there," Tex pointed out.

Alex moved to the side of the bed and stood up. "I know the way." He rolled his shoulders and put a hand on his chest, a slight show of pain crossing his face but vanishing a moment later. "I can lead you."

Tex shrugged. "All right, lead the way." She didn't seem to have too much confidence in if he actually knew what he was doing. "At the very least you can make sure that Alessa and Alana get out of there. If either of them are there they are your in charge of making sure that they get out of there."

Alex frowned at her. "Those aren't my orders and you don't give me orders." Alex moved away from the bed and toward the wall. He moved over to the walls and looked around. He stopped at a spot and started to feel along the wall.

"If I can't give you orders than who can?" Tex asked, moving over to stand near Alex as he searched the wall. "Since when do you know where you're going, either?"

"His eyes have been opened, the truth having been thrust upon him. It cannot be taken back," the woman answered. Grif stared at her for a moment and then turned back to Alex. Alex didn't even really seem to acknowledge any of it. "He takes orders from the one that owns him."

Grif stood up and moved across the room. "No one owns my son," he argued. "Well maybe Alessa does." Grif looked to Tex who shrugged, admitting that she agreed.

"Alessa doesn't own me," Alex countered. "She rents me…or she just sort of uses me…No that still doesn't sound right." Alex pushed against a part of the wall and Grif heard rust break. Alex put his weight against the wall. Metal dragged over metal as the door slowly opened. "The point is that Alessa doesn't order me either." The door swung all the way open and he looked back to Tex. "Are you ready? There's no turning back."

Tex nodded in reply before she looked to Grif. "What do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going with you," Grif answered. "I have no idea what is going on, and I don't really care as long as my son, my granddaughter, and my daughter-in-law all make it out all right. Oh, and my husband." Grif looked over his shoulder at Simmons as he moved over to join them.

"Great to know that I'm an afterthought," Simmons gripped. "I'm with you, wherever you're going to go. We've come this far why stop now?"

Alex frowned and looked away for a moment. "I don't have orders against you following us so you're free to come." Grif frowned, not liking the change in his son's attitude. He moved to head through the doorway but Grif grabbed his arm. Alex frowned at him and he could see annoyance in his son's eyes.

"What's going on with you? Why are you acting this way?" Grif looked back over his shoulder at the woman and then back to Alex. "What did she do?"

"She didn't do anything, other than save me," Alex answered. "Dad, I know a lot, things that were buried deep down, to protect me." He looked over toward the child Alex who was now sitting on the bed with the woman. "My eyes are open and I see the whole picture." He turned and moved through the doorway.

"I have no idea what that really means," Grif admitted. He followed his son into the hallway. "So if you know things then do you understand what is going on? Can you tell me who can give you orders? What did she mean about all that struggle stuff?"

"The other force that clashes with It is the same that gives me orders," Alex answered. He stopped in the hallway and looked down. Grif looked down as well and spotted a small black cat sitting before them. Alex just put his hands partially out to his sides. "Well?"

The cat meowed and stood up. It turned and started down the hallway, Alex following it. "Wait, let me get this straight. Your orders from some random person is to follow a cat?" Grif asked.

"That's what I'm supposed to do," Alex answered. "We follow the cat, it knows where to go. I'm not about to question the unnatural force that's guiding me to follow a small black feline with unnatural blue stripes."

Grif glance down at the cat and had to admit that following a cat wasn't the weirdest thing he'd ever seen in this place. "Can you at least be clear in your answers? Who is telling us to follow a cat?"

Alex raised an eyebrow at him and frowned. "Is it not obvious?"

"No, and we still don't have any information. What is happening? What are we doing?" Grif looked to Tex. "What the hell were you doing before we found you?"

"I was getting this knife. There's something I need to do, and only this blade can do it. The weird thing is that it was supposed to be dangerous, but it wasn't. There were monsters down there but they were too busy hanging onto the grates to mess with me." Tex looked down to the knife in her hand. "That woman told me it was going to be dangerous but as long as I left them alone they left me alone."

"That woman said that the monsters weren't hers," Grif informed her. He turned his attention to Alex. "Why would 'the soul' want to help Tex?"

"Because the Soul doesn't want to replace It. He wants Allison to do it, needs her to." Alex glanced over to Tex. "he wants you to do it."

"Yeah, because I really care what others want me to do or that makes this any easier." Tex scowled at Alex. "Do you know? Do you know about me and about him?"

Alex shrugged in response. "I don't know anything about you that I haven't experienced. I know more about him but that's not really through me. Why? Is there something I should know?"

Tex didn't answer right away. "You need only to know that Alessa and Alana's safety is all that should matter to you when we reach him."

"I am really lost," Simmons spoke up. "Why is it that no one wants to explain things to us?"

"Because you don't need to know what we're talking about," Tex answered. "Just sit back and be glad you don't have to do anything."

The group stopped as the feline came to a halt. Grif frowned as he saw the small creature starting to convulse. Alex put a hand on Grif's shoulder and pushed him back a bit, away from the creature. Bone broke through skin and Grif could see the muscle and fur trying to cover it but as soon as it would the bone would break out again. It took a few seconds for Grif to realize that the bone was breaking out because it was growing in size. The small feline had grown into a large cat, at least five feet at the shoulder. It was large and muscular, fur a midnight black, and deep cobalt blue stripes breaking through the dark hide. The tiger looked back at them and Grif found himself staring at bright green eyes.

"I should have seen that coming," Tex muttered. "Well get to it. We've wasted enough time already."

The tiger turned forward again and suddenly rushed forward, charging full speed. It slammed into a wall and the metal grate broke free, crashing through a stone wall on the other side. The feline charged past it and toward something.

Grif moved to the opening and he looked into the room. He spotted Alessa and Alana to the side, Alessa keeping her daughter protectively behind her. The great tiger stood before them, back to the women, as if to defend them. To the other side of the room there was a bloody body on the wall. Before the body stood a large monster, part dragon and part human, large pyramid helmet on its head. The does of its arms were burned up to the elbow. In the center of the room stood a woman, red hair and green eyes. She reminded Grif of Tex, and her face reminded him of Alessa in a way. She glared at the newly arrived group.

The red light spilled into the room like blood, coating everything in red. Sirens echoed through the air and the body on the wall moved, screaming. The world around them decayed as it always did, walls cracking, peeling, and then disappearing into the air. The difference was that there were no rusty grates under the stone walls. Instead there were slabs of seamless metal. Light spread over the walls, solidifying into a patter that reminded Grif of a circuit board. They glowed a mean red and snaked out like webbing along the walls. The ceiling vanished completely, opening up to a wide dome. He could see the same man from the other room hanging above them, limp and helpless.

The woman in the center of the room took a step forward, apparently happy with the change. "Hello, Texas."

Tex frowned at the woman but stepped forward. "Hello, Carolina."


	28. Chapter 27

Redemption chapter 27

Tex stared at the other woman. She hated this woman for dragging Alessa and Alana into all of this. Her daughter and granddaughter were innocent and had been forced back into this place because of this woman's selfish desires. She remembered the woman always being competitive, violent, and willing to do just about anything. She remembered blue armor, demands of receiving both AI, and the woman Lyon on the training room floor in pain as the AI screamed.

"Carolina, you have to stop this," Tex asserted. "This is wrong and you know it. I know you're mad, I am too, but harming Church doesn't fix anything. The only thing you're doing is becoming what you hate. The same thing that hurt you in the start."

"Words aren't going to change my mind, Texas. You have no idea what I'm trying to do," Carolina accused. "You just think you understand but do you even know what you are?"

"I know what I am and I know what you have planned," Tex countered. "You plan on replacing this place's god with Church."

"No, I'm going to replace it with the Alpha," Carolina corrected. "This world is full of shocked people and they need something that will punish them for what they've done."

"You mean people like you? People who use innocent people to lure others into traps like you did to Alessa and Alana. People who force people to do what they want, even if they don't want to take part like you are to Church." Tex scowled at the other woman. "Besides, you're missing one important fact. Church is an ass. He would be a vengeful god, not a forgiving one."

"Enough, you've always stood in my way. You won't stand in my way this time." Carolina charged toward Tex, knife at the ready.

"You could never beat me before, Carolina. What makes you think you can do it now?" Tex was ready when Carolina reached her. She deflected the other blade and ducked down as Carolina took a swing at her. It was all instinct for Tex. Duck, punch, block, swing. She didn't need to think, only needed to defend. Tex could see that with each missed hit or block from Tex Carolina was becoming more and more agitated. The frustration and anger showed on the woman's face and her strikes became more forceful and aggressive. The problem was she didn't have time to mess around and wait for an opening. She needed to stop the ritual before the damage was done. Something swung down between them and Tex stepped back. Alex moved to stand between her and Carolina.

"Alex, what are you doing?" Tex asked.

"What I'm ordered," Alex answered. He drew the axe back and swung again. Tex didn't know where he'd gotten the weapon but at least he was better armed than her. Alex swung the axe but Carolina was easily able to dodge him. Unfortunately despite his weapon being better Alex wasn't as skilled at combat. Carolina ducked under his next swing and with a few well placed punches the axe fell from his hands. Her foot stuck out, slamming into his side and causing him to hit the ground and roll. He came to a stop about two meters away from Carolina.

"Really, is this Alpha's fighter? I expected better." Carolina started to walk toward him. "For how good the director was at finding the best Alpha seems not to have inherited that trait." She suddenly stopped and scowled at Alex.

Alex raised his head and Tex stared at the man. His eyes had gone from their usual brown-gray to a bright blue. "I didn't chose him for his combat skill." The voice was Alex but Tex when he wasn't the one speaking. "I chose him because I wanted to right a wrong. Now I'll right another wrong, by killing you. Alana, give it to me."

Tex was confused what he meant until the sword slid over the floor. She recognized it as the katana that Alessa had kept in her home for so long, the one she'd killed Church with all those years ago. The blade was still stained with his blood as it had been since that day in the church. "So what if you have a sword. You don't know how to use it," Carolina pointed out.

"That's the thing, agent Carolina. The further your ritual goes the more powerful I become, the further through time I can look." Alex reached down and picked the blade up. He tested it in his hand, and adjusted his grip, before smirking. "I can be good at anything if I will it."

With that Alex charged, swinging the blade with ease. Carolina moved to avoid clashing blades, knowing that the larger blade would likely have enough force to knock the knife from her hand. Tex watched as Alex swung the sword, still not sure if it was Alex or Church that was fighting. What she was sure of was that something was off. Alex/Church's swings were much too lose and easy to dodge. She didn't understand what he had planned. Carolina was a good fighter and eventually she'd get in a hit. Tex gripped her blade tighter, not sure if she should step in or not. Did Church really know what he was doing or was he just messing around, not worried because he was using someone else's body?

Carolina dodged to the side of another strike, agitation obvious on her face. She found an opening and raised her knife to strike at Alex/Church. She froze before she could bring the blade down. The blade had run through her chest and her eyes were wide as she realized her mistake.

Alex/Church took a step back, staring at Carolina blankly. The sword hung limp at his side ad Carolina gripped the blade that was sticking out of her chest. "You were always so focused, too focused. You could only ever really see one enemy at a time. When you were at the top of the bird you were good but as soon as Tex arrived you became so focused on her you started to slip, focusing on beating her, not the enemy. Even when a man who loved you unconditionally tried to reason with you still you couldn't stop. You focused only on the fact he was helping Tex, not even bothering to listen or trust him. You could only focus on Tex. even now you were so focused on this one you forgot about my other servant."

Claws reached up and gripped Carolina's shoulder as Pyramid dragon moved a bit closer to the woman, the blade of its tail still buried in the woman's torso. Alex closed his eyes and looked down. When he rose his head again his eyes were back to their usual color. He turned to look at Tex. "it's time." He turned and moved over to Alessa and Alana, hugging his daughter tight. The pyramid dragon pulled its tail free and let the dead body of Carolina fall to the ground. It's tail fell to the ground limply and it stood statue still, waiting for direction or orders.

Tex sighed and turned toward Church's body on the wall. She moved over to him and stepped through the putter circle of the symbol on the floor. She held the blade tightly as she moved to stand before him. "Church?" His head rose to look at her but she could see it took great effort. There was blood dripping down from his scalp and she tried to ignore the open wounds. "The woman said you knew what I needed to do."

Church nodded his head. "Tex...Allison." His words were strained and she could tell that it was taking all his effort to speak. "You have to...kill me."

Tex stared at him, shocked. Her mouth hung open, struggling for words. She shook her head and finally found words. "You want me to kill you? I can't do that."

"Tex, you can't argue this. You have to do it. You have to stab me with the blade and kill me," Leonard instructed. "There is no other way to stop this from happening. Please, Tex, you have to do this."

Tex shook her head again. "If I do then where can I find you? Where do you wake up when you die?" She moved closer, putting a hand on his chest and then lifting it away as she felt the blood. She worried that any touch would harm him.

"I won't be coming back, Allison. When you kill me it will kill my soul, send it on from this world. I won't be coming back. Now do it, Allison. There's no other way." Leonard hung his head for a moment and took a deep breath. "Please."

Tex moved up closer to him, rising up on her toes and she pressed her lips to Leonard's. She ignored the taste of blood, knowing that she may never get to do this again so she had to take what she could get. She gripped the blade tighter and pulled it back. She set her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Leonard." She brought the blade down.

**Author's note: I want to thank all of you for reading this far. I've loved writing this series and I hope you've all enjoyed reading it. I know this chapter was short but the last one was long. I hope that you'll all enjoy the ending as well. **


	29. End

The blade hit the wall above Leonard's shoulder. "Allison, what are you doing?" He struggled to lift his head. Tex didn't move her head from his shoulder. "Allison, you have to kill me."

"I can't do it, Leonard." Tex shook her head but still didn't move it from his shoulder. "I came here to bring you home, I can't kill you. You can't ask me to do that. I just can't do it." She moved away from him and took a step back. She moved out of the circle of the symbol and stood back.

"No, Allison, you have to kill me," Leonard pleaded. "I don't want this, Allison. I'm asking you, begging you to not let this happen." His voice was becoming more and more strained as he spoke.

Allison took another step back and just watched as a spark of fire spread over the ground below Leonard. It slowly started to grow and eventually licked up to catch Leonard's pants. Tex could see Leonard silently scream as the fire started to climb over his clothing and burn his flesh. The fire rose higher and higher until it engulfed him completely. The fire turned from an angry red to a bright blue that cut into the red light around them. The fire spread over the walls and floors. Tex watched as the fire quickly encircled her and made it impossible for her to move. The fire grew until the light from the fire engulfed her.

Tex stared out the window and down at the street below. She watched as the man, probably a soldier, walked down the street absently, not knowing where he was going. She saw this often and had just gotten used to letting things run their course. She moved over to her desk and sat down. Tex grabbed a pen and checked that it wrote before she started. She ignored the fact that the ink was red, and most likely blood of some kind, and just started into her letter.

_Dear Alessa,_

_It has been some time since I have written you and I haven't written you yet since I started to live here in Silent Hill. I was right, sort of. Your father isn't exactly an ass, but he is a bit harsh. There are those that come here and sometimes I cannot see what it is that they have done wrong to warrant attention from your father. I know very little of the things he runs here in the city, his goals. I do know that whatever power he has here in this place he uses it to keep me safe. The monsters don't dare attack me, I can even walk up to them. _

_I walk around most days, if there really are days here. I go looking for your father, just trying to find where he is. I've only ever found that woman, though I'm not sure if she's dead. Her body is untouched and she just looks like she's sleeping on her bed. I'm constantly being followed by this black cat, which I've been calling Shadow, as she follows me everywhere. Any time any of the monsters even look at me as though they might attack it seems like Shadow chases him away. I've found ruins of what the old god had made and it seems that your father is just leaving them be. I have no real understanding of why he would do so but I don't think I'd ever understand even the position he is in. Mortals should be happy to be ignorant of the life of gods._

_I've seen the other version of Alex, he walks around a lot. He's not at all like Alex, he's more pensive. I hope your Alex has gone back to normal but the other says he never will. At least he has you to sooty it over. The one here seems so alone. Your father trusted me with the root, the child version of your Alex. He lives in the kids room in this house but I have limited interaction. The way that Alex explained it the child can't be changed too much by kindness or the entire thing could become screwed up. I don't really understand it but I don't want to screw anything up. _

_There's something I need total you about, Alessa. Things that I didn't know, but that you have a right to know. No one in our family is normal. Alex is the image of a child given a chance at peace and you are not far from the same. When your father found you you were just a little girl, the shadow of a victim of Silent Hill. Your father gave you freedom, made you more than just an echo of a hurt child. He also gave me life, in more ways than one. The thing you don't know about me and your father is that before we came to Silent Hill we weren't real, weren't alive. Before Silent Hill we were AI. We too were shadows of people from the past but we were broken people. Your father at that time was called Alpha. We were part if a military project and your father was made from the man who ran the project and your father made me. It is all too complicated to explain and you don't really need to know all of it. The truth is the project did a lot of bad things and in it your father went through awful things. _

_When we came to Silent Hill it was because of your father. It's hard to tell what was planned by that woman and what wasn't but things are the way they are and we are luck, of blessed. Your father was brought here by his guilt and he found salvation from his sin. He believed in redemption, that is why we all live. He wanted to give us freedom and god accepted his plea, at a price. I know you always wondered why he wasn't around but I want you to know why. It was so you could be free, and so I could be free. Your father sold his own life to serving the god here in Silent Hill to give us life away from this place, flesh and freedom. He has always protected us, and he always will. Even now I see imprints of his love in his world. I have met several Alessas, every one of them happy and safe. I met a woman named Heather who told me the things about you that you don't even remember. I am happy that you are who you are and that you have Alex. Remember this, Alessa, love can make all the difference. Love can bring light to the darkness._

_Your loving mother_

Tex stood from her desk. If Leonard willed her letter to go it would disappear. It wasn't like Silent Hill had any normal postal service. Ted moved into her bedroom and moved over to the dresser. She looked over the collection of pictures on the dresser. There was an old picture of Alessa and Tex, her favorite picture from when Alessa married Alex, and a picture of Alessa, Alex, and Alana. She stopped at a picture of Alana sitting on a couch with a young man. Tex wasn't sure if she approved of the man but she supposed she didn't really get a say.

She moved to the next picture and picked it up. It was Tucker and Sister, recently born child in their arms and she had to admit that they looked like a proper family. Tucker even looked like a father, which was kind of weird. Put the picture down and moved to the next.

Allison stared at the picture, not believing what she was seeing. There in the picture sat Leonard, shirtless, and covered in scars. The scars made a pattern that looked like some series of symbols that snaked up his arms, over his shoulders, and down his chest. He held the familiar katana in his hand and was staring toward where the camera would be. Beside him stood the Pyramid Dragon like a silent guardian. It was an amazing picture to Allison as she hadn't even seen Leonard since the ritual, since he'd become god. She took the picture and moved over to the bed. For the first time she had proof that any part of Leonard's physical form was somewhere. She turned the frame over and opened it up, slipping the photo out. On the back there were words written in careful hand writing.

_Time heals all wounds and fosters forgiveness._

Allison stared at the words and sighed. "All right, I get it." She put the picture back and set it on the nightstand beside the bed. "However long it takes I'll be here." She smirked as she stared at the picture. "Though come to think of it you hold grudges for a long time." She stood from the bed and moved through the house. She moved down the stairs and stopped in the doorway. She looked back at the black cat sitting behind her. The feline stared unblinking, watching Allison. "Come on, Shadow, maybe we can help that guy find some salvation." The feline meowed and moved to follow Allison out the door.

End


	30. Finish

The blade struck down, buried into Leonard's shoulder. Allison still held the blade tight, face buried against his shoulder. Leonard suddenly slipped and she released the blade to catch his body. They slid to the floor and Allison set him down on the ground. Her hand moved to his neck as the skin changed color, a black discoloration spreading like vines. Allison leaned over him, placing her hands on his cheeks. "Leonard?"

His eyes turned to her and he smiled weakly. "Thank you, Allison." His hand reached up and touched her cheek for a moment before falling to his chest. "I'm sorry for a lot of things."

"You better be sorry," Allison tried to sound mad but she couldn't manage it. She couldn't hide her sorrow. "I came here to bring you home. The woman said I'd get to take you home."

"Mortals often get in the way of the plans of gods. Particularly when god walks the mortal world." Leonard laughed once but quickly cringed in pain. "Maybe It did plan to she me away with you, remove the threat, but others had a head start." He took a deep breath before he could continue. "This time I'm not going to wake up, Allison. Good-"

Allison shook her head. "No, don't say goodbye. You know I hate goodbyes. If you don't say it then you'll never really leave me." She put a hand on each of his cheeks and leaned down until her forehead touched his. "I love you, Alpha."

"May you find peace, Tex." Leonard's eyes slowly closed and Tex closed her eyes. She could feel his skin become cold under her hands and she knew he was gone. Tears slid from her eyes as she started to cry. Her head fell to Leonard's chest as she sobbed. Everything she'd done she'd done to bring him home. It was unfair that after all of this, after all they'd been through, that this had to be their fate.

"Tex, you have to let him go. " She recognized Grif's voice but didn't more from her position. She felt him try to grab her arm but she swatted in his direction and he released her. "Tex.." he trailed off.

"Allison," this time it was the voice of Alex. "I have my orders." There was something cold in his voice. "One I can't refuse."

"How can you have any orders? He's gone," Allison pointed out. "The dead don't give orders."

"They can when they're alive." Allison had just started to lift her head to ask him what he meant when the force hit her head and the world around her was absorbed by darkness.

Allison's eyes slowly opened and she found herself staring up at a metal ceiling. She turned to her right and found Alex sitting on a crate. He was staring away from her, eyes unfocused. "Exactly what was your final order?" Allison asked.

"To get you out," Alex answered simply. "My last order was to be sure you left, that you got away. He knew you well enough that he knew you'd try to stay. I've known you all my life, knew I had to use force to get you to leave."

Allison didn't say anything, just stared at the man. She was tired, very tired, and she wanted nothing more than to forget everything that had happened. She knew that she never could, that she would never escape those horrible truths. "Why me? Why did I have to do it?"

"Because he knew you'd understand why he wanted it done. Because he trusted you to be able to carry out the task. Because you aren't marked by that place like me. When I am there I am a part of it, a piece of a large complicated puzzle. I couldn't do it so you were the only option." Alex finally turned his gaze to her. "It had to be done, Allison."

Allison stared at him for a few seconds before she spoke again. "Are you going to tell Alessa? About everything that happened. The things you know, the being his servant, or the child."

Alex shook his head. "She doesn't need to know about any of that. It isn't relevant. What I know doesn't change who I am, I'm just a bit more aware. I'm more thankful for my wife, my daughter, and my fathers. I am thankful for the gift that Leonard gave me, the second chance. I think I'd rather take a page from Leonards' book and chose to leave them in the dark rather then make them aware of the cruelty of the world."

Tex stayed quiet. He was right, and she would likely adopt the same choice. Alessa didn't need to know what she knew. It was information for her and only her, just as what Alex knew was for him and only him. The man stood and Tex sat up. She realized she was sleeping on one of the makeshift beds they'd been using in the ship. Alex stopped at the foot of her bedding and dropped something. Tex looked at the bundle and reached down, grabbing it. She unwrapped the objects and stared at them. "The knife and Leonard's journal?"

Alex stared at her and the objects. "Where did you get those?" There was genuine confusion on his face as he scowled. Tex just stared at him and he finally just shrugged. "Fine, don't answer me." He turned and moved away, leaving her alone.

Tex set the knife to the side, not really wanting to look at it. It represented such horrible events, it reminded her of the katana that Alessa had kept for so long, though unlike the sword she knew exactly what damage she'd done with the blade. She hesitated at looking at the journal. What if it was blank or filled with nothing but old messages? If Alex had dropped it on some hidden order from Leonard what other orders might still be buried in Alex's mind? She wondered if he still had a mandate to protect Alessa or that had vanished without Leonard's influence.

She turned her attention to the journal and decided that Leonard wouldn't have had Alex drop it if there wasn't something he wanted her to read. She opened the journal and flipped through it. The pages were filled with sketches of things that were now familiar to her. The monsters she'd seen, the pyramid dragon, and faces of long dead soldiers. She finally found text and started to read.

_Dear Allison, _

_Or Tex if you'd prefer. After all that is the name I originally gave you. Still, I think you look like an Allison. There is so much I want to apologize for, enough to fill all the pages of this journal, but I know you hate long winded talks so I'll try not to be overly complicated. You know the truth now, that we aren't really people like the others. We are shadows of real people, almost copies but independent enough that we are our own people. You know about Project Freelancer, about the awful things that were done in its name. You're aware of what happened to me, and how you came to be. I'd apologize for creating you but I can't. I sold my soul to the demon that I Silent Hill calls a god to correct my mistake, to make up for it. I want you to be free, and I Alessa deserved the same chance. _

_I believe in what this thing they call a god presents to those that come to Silent Hill. It opened my eyes to the truth, helped me come to terms with it, and in the end helped me right that wrong. It helped me give you a body, give you a life of your own, and allowed me to give you a daughter. It gave me the chance to give you, Alessa, and Alex a chance to have normal lives, one untouched by the cruel intentions of others. _

_I have tried to keep you away from Silent Hill and I know I haven't always succeeded, but I've always tried. I love you, Allison, and I always will. I'm sorry for what I had to ask you to do. If there had been another way I would have done it but there was no other choice. I know you hate goodbyes so I won't bother. Instead I'll leave you with this. I hope that in time you will find forgiveness for me and all the wrongs I've done. I hope that what little good I could do for you may help in finding forgiveness. _

_Forever with my Love, _

_Leonard. _

Allison shut the journal and stared at the cover. She ran a hand absently over the worn marking on the front and let out a long breath. A part of her was a bit mad about having been forced to be the one to kill Leonard, but she understood why. She knew that anger would fade, and she did know that she owed Leonard a lot. Tex's attention was suddenly pulled up as Alessa appeared.

"Mom, it will be a few weeks until we get back home so we raided the kitchens. I found this and thought that you deserved it." Alessa held out a bar of chocolate to Allison.

Allison stood up and took the chocolate. "I think we could all use this, Honey." Allison smiled at her daughter and stopped for a moment. She looked down at the journal and tossed it back onto her bedding. "Come on, we'll share it as a group, celebrate being alive."

"Honestly, Mom, I thought you'd be more upset than this. Alana is really just happy that her father's alive, but…Will we really never see dad again?" Alessa hung her head and Allison could see the sad look on her face.

"This time I think he's finally being allowed to rest, but that doesn't mean he's gone. As long as we remember him then he's alive. Just remember your father loves you, and Alana, and even Alex. I owe your father for giving me you, and he had a hand in giving you Alex. I'd prefer to remember him for what he gave us, that's still here, and be thankful that now he can finally be at rest." Allison smiled at her daughter. "Now smile, because we're alive, and your father would want us to be happy and live it up." Alessa smiled a bit and Allison put an arm around her daughter's shoulders. They moved to join up with the others who were sitting around the spoils of the kitchen raid.

End


	31. Final

The blade struck down, buried into Leonard's shoulder. Allison still held the blade tight, face buried against his shoulder. Leonard suddenly slipped and she released the blade to catch his body. They slid to the floor and Allison set him down on the ground. Her hand moved to his neck as the skin changed color, a black discoloration spreading like vines. Allison leaned over him, placing her hands on his cheeks. "Leonard?"

His eyes turned to her and he smiled weakly. "Thank you, Allison." His hand reached up and touched her cheek for a moment before falling to his chest. "I'm sorry for a lot of things."

"You better be sorry," Allison tried to sound mad but she couldn't manage it. She couldn't hide her sorrow. "I came here to bring you home. The woman said I'd get to take you home."

"Mortals often get in the way of the plans of gods. Particularly when god walks the mortal world." Leonard laughed once but quickly cringed in pain. "Maybe It did plan to she me away with you, remove the threat, but others had a head start." He took a deep breath before he could continue. "This time I'm not going to wake up, Allison. Good-"

Allison shook her head. "No, don't say goodbye. You know I hate goodbyes. If you don't say it then you'll never really leave me." She put a hand on each of his cheeks and leaned down until her forehead touched his. "I love you, Alpha."

"May you find peace, Tex." Leonard's eyes slowly closed and Tex closed her eyes. She could feel his skin become cold under her hands and she knew he was gone. Tears slid from her eyes as she started to cry. Her head fell to Leonard's chest as she sobbed. Everything she'd done she'd done to bring him home. It was unfair that after all of this, after all they'd been through, that this had to be their fate.

"Tex, you have to let him go. " She recognized Grif's voice but didn't more from her position. She felt him try to grab her arm but she swatted in his direction and he released her. "Tex.." he trailed off.

"Allison..." Allison lifted her head and looked up at the source of the voice. Before her stood the red haired woman that was 'God' if Allison had guessed right. The woman wasn't thin any more, she looked healthier, but her colors still seemed faded. The woman knelt down so she was closer to her eye level.

Allison felt a spike of rage. "You lied to me!" She accused. "You said that I could use the blade to save him, not kill him. You said that if I came I could take him home."

"You have saved him," the woman countered. "You saved him from being forced to rule this land. Saved him from a fate worse than I could ever think up. I will miss our games but you have given him salvation."

"But...I did what you told me to do. I did what was asked. Why now do I have to go home empty handed?" Allison gripped Leonard's shirt. "He said you were merciful, fair, forgiving. Then why would you do this?"

"Events are not of my design. On this plane of existence my rule is not infallible, can be deterred." The woman reached down and gripped the blade. She placed a hand on Leonard's chest and pulled the blade free. She lay the blade down on his chest and put a hand over the wound. "I reward those who come to terms with their guilt, let to of the past, find forgiveness." The woman's hands moved up to Allison's cheeks. "Have you?"

Allison struggled to think. She felt a chill creeping into her mind and she wondered if it was the woman asserting some sort if influence over her. She tried to focus, make words, but it was becoming harder and harder to think. Her eyes slowly closed and she felt the world around her become numb.

Allison sat up quickly, her mind suddenly snapping to reality but it all didn't make sense. She was lying in bed in her own home. She didn't understand how she'd gotten here. Had she dreamed what had happened? No, that wasn't possible, she'd felt pain. Was this a dream or hallucination? She pin bed her forearm and it hurt so at least this wasn't a dream. Maybe the woman had done something, sent her home now that her job was done. Allison pulled her legs up under the sheet to her chest. She'd been sent ack to her empty home. She was glad that Alessa ad Alana were all right but it diet make it any easier to come home without Leonard.

The toilet in the master bathroom flushed and Allison's head snapped up as the door opened. "Damn, spend a few decades fighting for survival and dying and you forget the small annoyances like needing to use the bathroom." Leonard put a hand on his stomach. "Forgot about hunger as well. Sure you can get tired but come to think of it I don't think I even saw food there."

Allison just stared in confusion at the man. He stood in simply a pair of light blue boxers, hair a mess. Scars from cuts, burns and bites were peppered over his skin. there were prominent symbols on his arms, legs, and chest. The symbols were connected by a series of winding lines. The only symbol not connected was one over Leonard's heart, the same one shed found in his journal. The lines stopped a few centimeters away from the symbol like outstretched fingers that forever were doomed to fail to reach their objective. He moved around the bed to sit on his own side. Allison carefully reached out, hand hesitantly touching his chest. It was warm and alive beneath her fingers. "Leonard?"

"That's the name I'd prefer you call me by. After all I'm not Really Alpha. I'm what's left of Alpha's shattered mind. I'm a fragment, just like all the others. Well except for you. You were a complete thought, not just a piece of rubble from a decaying structure. You were a safe, filled with my most valuable memories, strong and indestructible. You were on purpose." Leonard smiled and placed a hand over hers on his chest. "You cut it a little close, though. If you'd stalled much longer it would have finished."

Allison's gaze turned to the one unconnected symbol. "What does it mean? I saw it several times."

"It was going to be my symbol, if they had their way. It started to bleed through as they made their preparations. The markings on Alex's back is mine as well." Leonard scowled a bit. "They're really just reminders now."

"Where did the other ones come from. You had some if them the last time I saw you." Allison scooted a bit closer to him, letting her legs stretch out on the bed as she relaxed.

"We'll those actually mean something. Servant, sacrifice, family." As he named them off Leonard pointed to each mark. "Oh and redemption, or salvation if you prefer that term." He turned around so she could see the large symbol on his back.

Allison reached out and touched it, running her fingers over the scarred tissue. "You're really home. The. Whatever it wanted me to do I'd done?"

"Well I am back, for good, but you didn't do what it wanted. You didn't let go of the past events from the Freelancer project, you didn't acknowledge your guilt over the part you played in it all, and you haven't forgiven me or yourself. The truth is that It had its own plans and sending me home with you was part of it." Leonard let out a long breath and shook his head.

"I don't understand." Allison leaned forward to let her cheek rest on his back. "How is this part of its plan? Did it break your deal? What happened?"

"A long time ago, I'm not sure how long ago, It was forced onto this plane of existence. A god forced to walk the mortal world sort of thing. It still had power but now it was physical. That's actually the reason why I was able to make my deal. Over time I gained power in it's world and when it grew enough to get Carolina's attention the acted. You stopped me from replacing It but I had had power in that place and I'd changed things. The fact is that It couldn't eliminate my influence that had been caused but it could make sure this doesn't happen again. Sending me here meant my influence isn't active there and someone would have to lure me there to do anything. It also gave It a way to get off of this plane of existence. There's an old line in what the Order's creation story. There God's strength gave out and she collapsed. All the worlds people grieved this unfortunate event yet god breathed her last. She returned to the dust, promising to come again. It was that promise that led to It being brought to this plane of existence, and those same lines that let It leave. The struggle between the two of us had weakened us both, and It used the last of its mortal strength to pull my soul back from death, give me back to you. It no longer walks on mortal grounds because its strength gave out and it returned to the dust."

"Will it return again?" Allison didn't like the idea of another group bringing that hell back to them. She'd had enough of Silent Hill.

"I don't know, but it won't be any time soon. By the time they could the bloodline will have branched off enough that our offspring wouldn't be in danger and we'll be dead." Leonard absently touched one of the markings on his forearm, running his finger around it.

"Leonard, about what I learned….about us…" Allison found it hard to come up with the correct words, any words at all. She failed to come up with anything as her mind went blank. It was all so much for her to take in and she didn't even know where to start.

"You know now the truth. You know what we are, about the Project, and about all the bad things we helped them do. You know that we're shadows of people but at the same time we aren't them. You know about what happened to me, how you came to be, and unfortunately I can't take that away. Making you aware of that was never something I wanted. It was the price that It wanted you to pay in order to get me back but…well even the best laid plans can be screwed up by people. What you need to know is that when I made you you weren't truly free. You were bound to the memories of the woman the Director had loved. What you are now is you and only you. You were free to grow as was your choice. That was why I did everything I did, because I wanted to right my wrong. I wanted to make things right for you."

Leonard turned his gaze to the door as he heard a knock. "I should put on pants." He stood from the bed and moved to the dresser, opening it up. "Oh, haha, very funny," he muttered. Leonard pulled out a pair of pants and a shirt, quickly getting dressed, ignoring the second knock. Allison understood why he was unhappy about the clothing as he got dressed. They fit perfectly but they were the same clothing that she'd always seen him wearing in Silent Hill.

The door slowly opens and Allison turned to see Alessa peeking in. "See, I told you it was fine," she stated swinging the door opened. Behind her stood an uncomfortable Alex. "Mom, what happened?"

Allison didn't know how to answer the question but Leonard stepped in before she had to. "We went home. If I'm correct Alana is on the couch and Grif and Simmons are crammed into the love seat down stairs."

Alessa's eyes widened as she spotted her father. She emitted a high pitched sound before rushing across the room and throwing her arms around his torso. "Dad, you're home!"

Leonard hugged his daughter to his chest. Allison watched as Alex moved over to stand behind Alessa. He bowed slightly to the other man, gaze blank. "Alex, why don't you and Alessa head down stairs. Alana will be waking up soon and she'll want her parents there. Your fathers will also be happy to see you safe."

Alex nodded and put a hand on Alessa's shoulder. "Come on, Alana needs us." Alessa reluctantly released Leonard and let Alex lead her out out of the room.

Leonard moved over to Allison's side of the bed. "They'll have questions and you need to get dressed."

"I have questions as well," Allison pointed out. She moved to the edge of the bed and stood up. "Just give me a moment." Allison moved over to the dresser and pulled it open. She grabbed out a gray tank top and a pair of sweat pants. Leonard just stood and waited for her as she got dressed. She moved as quickly as she could, not wanting to keep him waiting. She had questions and she was going to get answers to them.

When she finished they left the room, heading down stairs. Grif and Simmons were already sitting at the kitchen table, Alex across from them. Alessa was starting up some coffee while Alana retrieved mugs for everyone. "All right, ask away," Leonard said as he took a seat at the table.

Oddly no one spoke for a while. They sat in silence, trying to decide what to ask first. It was Grif that spoke up. "All right, I guess I'll start us off. Why did they attack our son?" He glanced across the table at Alex.

"Because they were trying to turn him," Leonard answered simply. "They already knew that Heather and Pyramid Head couldn't be turned, and they didn't want to hurt Alessa because they knew that would make me an angry god. They thought that by opening him to all of his past that he would understand what they were trying to do and would join their fight."

"Well that was stupid," Alex spoke up. "You owned me. Even if I wanted to would I have been able to go against what you willed? Not that I wouldn't agree with you even now but could I have if I hadn't agreed?"

Leonard shrugged. "I don't really know. You either couldn't or didn't disagree so I have no idea. I usually only nudged you, though. I gave you subtle instructions on direction, or gave access to your body for Alex Shepard so he could defend you and Alessa when needed. Well mainly Alessa but that's beside the point."

Silence fell again and Alessa moved to join them. "So why exactly did that woman do what she did?"

"That's rather complicated. It really starts back the first time we went there, when I found you," Leonard started. "At that time I sold myself into its service to give Allison freedom. To get Alessa I sold myself into a specific position, into one of It's 'angles'. I won't bore you with the details but basically every day we played this game where I tried to live and it tried to kill me and every day it started over again. It's not as bad as it sounds. I made friends with Pyramid head and he at least kept me company, when he wasn't trying to kill me. I also got fairly close to the Champions so there was also them that I could meet up with."

"Who are the Champions?" Simmons asked.

"Alex was a champion, or at least the original was. The champions were those that came to Silent Hill, faced feet odds, and triumphed. They are the ones that left such an impact that that shadows of them are left there. I was on good relations with Alex, Heather, Henry, and Harry and I had an understanding. James was the only one I didn't get along with but he's an ass so no one cares. Guy smothered his wife so he can rot in Silent Hill." Leonard stared down at the table top. "They would help me sometimes. They all knew about the game and they felt it was only fair with the monsters that would go after me first. I was gaining influence, even over some of the creatures. Sure I was still playing the games but I was getting stronger, I had more influence, and I think that had become a part of the game. This sort of struggle to come up with new ways to kill me as my influence grew. That woman took notice of my influence and made a plan.

"There are some people that she wanted dead and she thought that I would punish them the way she wanted. The thing is I had let that all go while she was still holding onto her pain. I knew the terrors I'd been through in my life because of them but after all that time all I could focus on at times was Allison and Alessa so I had forgiven the them for what he'd done to me. My life was full of a pain I'd agreed to for something I wanted and all that pain from the past became insignificant. You don't know the number of times It sent me fake versions of people I cared about so I could watch them die. I'd let the past and all that pain go because I could see the good it had come from it." Leonard looked to Alessa, Alex, and then Allison.

The silence stuck this time until Alana started to hand out the coffee. At that point the conversation turned to trying to inform Leonard of all he'd missed while he was gone. He politely smiled and asked questions but after a while he stopped Grif from explaining Donut and Caboose's living arrangement. "Dude, I don't need to hear about Caboose and Donut's eternal sleepover. I really don't want to know. Just tell me Donut and Caboose are living together, that's all I need to know."

"All right, I take a hint. I really don't want to know about the life of Caboose and Donut. Hell I don't even really want to know about it." Grif grinned and looked to Simmons. The maroon soldiers was sitting beside him, his shoulders slumped and he was starting to drift off. "Well, we're really happy we're alive and everything but we could use some sleep." Grif stood from his seat and looked to Alex and Alessa. "We can walk you guys home. I know that Church would feel better if you guys were protected."

"First, my name is Leonard. There are five Church in this room right now so you might as well start calling me by my first name. Second, Alex would protect them so there's nothing to worry about." Leonard stood from his seat and moved over to Alessa. She was sitting in her seat with Alana leaning against her shoulder, drowsy. "You should head home sweetheart. We have many years in the future to spend together, making up for all the lost years."

Alessa frowned but seemed to relent. "All right, I'll head home." Alessa moved and Alana woke up.

Allison watched as they all said their goodbyes and then left the house. It left Allison and Leonard alone in their home. For once though Allison didn't feel like her home was empty. She could hear Leonard in the kitchen putting mugs into the sink and running some water to wash them out. Allison stood in the doorway and just watched him. He turned to look back at her and smiled. Allison moved from the doorway to her and let him wrap his arms around her. She leaned into his chest and just enjoyed the moment. She never thought she'd get to have his moment.

"It's good to be home," Leonard commented.

"It's good to have you home, Leonard." Allison closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, returning the hug. He had finally come home, and she'd never let him be taken again. All the things of the past meant nothing now. She had him, this moment, and this embrace, and she'd never let it go.

End


End file.
